Iran war overshadows Trump’s China visit as peace talks stall

A ship was reportedly seized by Iranian personnel off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and headed toward Iranian waters on Thursday, as the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on the need to keep the sea lane open strategy of the Strait of Hormuz.

China is close to Iran and is its main buyer of oil. Iran has largely closed the strait to ships except its own since the US-Israeli-led war against Iran began on February 28, causing the largest disruption to global energy supplies on record.

The United States suspended attacks on Iran last month, but implemented a blockade of the country’s ports.

Among the latest incidents on this trade route, an Indian cargo ship carrying livestock from Africa to the United Arab Emirates sank on Wednesday in the waters off Oman.

India condemned the attack and said the 14 crew members had been rescued by the Omani coast guard. Vanguard, a British maritime security consultancy, said the ship was believed to have been hit by a missile or drone, causing an explosion.

Separately, the British maritime security agency UKMTO reported Thursday that ‘unauthorized personnel’ had boarded a ship anchored off the port of Fujairah, in the United Arab Emirates, and were heading it towards Iran.

Vanguard said a company security official reported that ‘the vessel was seized by Iranian personnel while at anchor.’

After talks between Trump and Xi on Thursday, the White House said the leaders agreed that the strait should remain open and that Xi had made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the strait and any attempt to impose a right of passage for its use.

He also expressed interest in purchasing more U.S. oil to reduce China’s future dependence on the Strait, and the leaders agreed that Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons, according to the minutes. Tehran denies seeking to acquire such weapons.

DIPLOMACY AT STALL

Trump is seeking China’s support to end a war that has become an electoral liability as it bogs down ahead of November’s U.S. midterm elections. But analysts doubt whether Xi is willing to pressure Iran or stop supporting its military, given its value as a strategic counterweight to the United States.

In an interview with CNBC from Beijing, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed China would “do what it can” to help open the strait, which is “entirely in its interests.” Before the war, about a fifth of the world’s supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas passed through this waterway.

However, diplomacy has stalled since last week, when Iran and the United States each rejected the other’s most recent proposals.

Fujairah is the UAE’s only oil port located on the Gulf of Oman, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, allowing some cargoes to reach markets without passing through this key crossing point. Iran included this part of the coast on an expanded map published last week of the waters it claims to place under its control.

Yet Iran appears to be making more deals with some countries to allow a few ships to pass through the strait – if they agree to Tehran’s terms.

A Japanese tanker crossed Wednesday after Japan’s prime minister announced she had asked the Iranian president for help. A huge Chinese tanker also crossed on Wednesday, and Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Thursday that a deal had been reached to let some Chinese vessels pass.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said 30 ships had crossed since Wednesday evening, still well below the usual 140 daily crossings before the war, but a substantial increase if confirmed.

According to the maritime analysis company Kpler, around 10 ships crossed the strait in the last 24 hours, compared to five to seven daily passages in recent weeks.

Iranian justice spokesman Asghar Jahangir said the seizure of ‘American tankers’ violating Iranian regulations was carried out in accordance with national and international law.

THE IRANIAN THREAT ‘CONSIDERABLY WEAKENED’

Thousands of Iranians were killed in US and Israeli airstrikes in the first weeks of the war, and thousands more have died in Lebanon since the conflict reignited fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

Discussions between Lebanese and Israeli officials Thursday in Washington were productive and positive, according to a senior State Department official, who said they were expected to continue Friday.

Trump said his goals in launching the war were to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, end its ability to attack its neighbors, and facilitate the Iranian overthrow of the government.

A senior US admiral told a US Senate committee on Thursday that Iran’s ability to threaten its neighbors and US regional interests had been ‘significantly weakened’.

“They no longer threaten regional partners, nor the United States, as they were able to do before, in all areas,” said Admiral Brad Cooper.

However, Cooper declined to directly address reports from Reuters and other news agencies that Iran retained significant missile and drone capabilities.

Iran’s leaders, who used force to suppress anti-government protests earlier this year, have faced no organized opposition since the start of the war. And their closure of the strait gave them additional leverage in negotiations.

Washington wants Tehran to hand over its uranium and renounce any further enrichment. Iran is demanding the lifting of sanctions, reparations for war damages and recognition of its control over the strait.