US President Donald Trump said he would be open to Iran suspending its nuclear programme for 20 years, but stressed that any agreement would need to be a “real” commitment.
He also said his patience with Tehran was running out and revealed that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Iran “cannot be allowed” to develop a nuclear weapon and must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Reuters report.
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US-Iran war ‘has no reason to continue’: Beijing
Speaking after talks with Xi in Beijing on Friday, Trump said discussions covered the Iran war, Taiwan, trade and other global issues.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle,” Trump said after meeting Xi on the second day of talks.
China’s foreign ministry issued a sharp statement criticising the conflict.
“This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said.
Iran had effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz to most shipping traffic in response to US-Israeli attacks launched on February 28, triggering massive disruption to global energy supplies.
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The US paused direct attacks on Iran last month but imposed a blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran has said it will not reopen the strait until the blockade is lifted. Trump, meanwhile, warned of renewed military action if Iran refuses to strike a deal.
“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages indicating Washington remained open to negotiations, though he did not elaborate further.
Iran continues to deny it is pursuing nuclear weapons and has refused to dismantle its nuclear programme or surrender its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium.
“I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” Trump said in an interview aired Thursday night on Fox News’ “Hannity”, adding that the uranium only needed to be secured by the US for “public relations purposes”.
Oil prices rose nearly 3% to around $109 per barrel amid fears that the conflict could drag on without resolution.
Following Thursday’s Trump-Xi talks, the White House said Xi had opposed any Iranian attempt to impose tolls on vessels using the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump also claimed Xi assured him China would not supply Iran with military equipment.
The conflict has increasingly become a political challenge for Trump ahead of key US midterm elections in November.
While China has rejected allegations it plans to arm Iran as “groundless smears”, analysts remain doubtful Beijing would fully abandon Tehran, given Iran’s strategic importance in countering US influence.
Talks remain stalled
Pakistan-mediated talks aimed at ending the conflict have remained stalled after both Iran and the US rejected each other’s latest proposals last week.
Araqchi said Iran was prepared both for diplomacy and continued fighting, while reiterating that ships not linked to countries attacking Iran could still pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the conflict, nearly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies – along with fertiliser and other key goods – moved through the waterway. Shipping attacks have since severely disrupted traffic, though a Chinese tanker and another vessel linked to Japan crossed the strait on Wednesday.
The UAE said it would accelerate construction of a new pipeline to Fujairah port outside the Strait of Hormuz after one vessel headed there was sunk this week and another was seized and redirected to Iran.
