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Or sign-in if you have an account.China's President Xi Jinping meets with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a visit to Zhongnanhai Garden in Beijing on May 15, 2026. Photo by EVAN VUCCI /POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesIran said transit through the Strait of Hormuz will normalize once security conditions are restored, after U.S. President Donald Trump returned from a visit to China with an agreed desire to reopen the critical maritime route but little in the way of a path to achieving it.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorIran has shown little interest in loosening its hold on the waterway, insisting it wants to maintain a degree of control even after the end of the war. Iran’s threats on ships in the Persian Gulf have brought exports from the oil-rich region to a near-standstill, sending energy prices soaring and giving Tehran significant leverage in talks with the U.S.“Naturally, once the current state of insecurity is resolved, navigation conditions in the Strait of Hormuz will return to normal,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was cited as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.Get a dash of perspective along with the trending news of the day in a very readable format.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againIran will implement effective and professional monitoring and control mechanisms in the Strait of Hormuz within the framework of international law, Pezeshkian said without elaborating. He added Iran remains committed to a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that the strait should be opened to shipping as soon as possible, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. In response to Iran’s disruption of shipping movements, the U.S. imposed a blockade on the Islamic Republic’s oil exports, in an effort to sever its economic lifeline and persuade its officials to agree to US terms for a peace deal.The statement from China came as the world’s two largest economies sought to emphasize points of agreement on the Middle East conflict during Trump’s meetings with President Xi Jinping this week — even as they’re essentially on opposite sides, with China repeatedly criticizing the US-Israeli attack on its Iranian ally.On his way back from China, Trump also told reporters he spoke with Xi about potentially lifting sanctions on Chinese oil companies that buy Iranian crude. The Treasury Department has escalated those penalties in recent weeks as the U.S. tries to pressure Tehran on talks. Beijing ordered its companies to ignore the sanctions.“I’m going to make a decision over the next few days,” Trump said aboard Air Force One when asked if he’d consider lifting the sanctions. “We did talk about that.”Trump said that three Chinese tankers that went through the Strait of Hormuz loaded with Iranian oil this week did so because the U.S. allowed it, in an interview with Fox News. Iranian state TV had previously said over 30 ships were allowed passage through the strait since Wednesday night, citing an official from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navy.The White House faces a conundrum: How to reopen the strait, lower global energy prices and wind down an increasingly unpopular conflict that has caused the biggest oil supply disruption in history ahead of midterm elections in November.Brent crude has jumped about 50% since the start of the war, with traders fearing a fresh escalation in hostilities between the US and Iran after Trump’s visit to China failed to yield any concrete progress on a plan to restart the Strait of Hormuz.Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi arrived in Tehran on Saturday, where he met his Iranian counterpart. The two discussed bilateral relations and the prospects for resuming US-Iran peace negotiations, for which Pakistan has been the main mediator, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.A modest recovery in vessel movements seen earlier this week has faded as owners remained cautious.“Negotiations are deadlocked, violence erupts sporadically and the economic costs of the prolonged closing of the Strait of Hormuz are rising,” Bloomberg Economics defense lead Becca Wasser wrote in a research note on Friday. “Threats to return to war continue to fly, and the status quo is becoming increasingly unsustainable. We think a return to open conflict is likely.”The only real prospect of a short-term deal appears to be putting off talks about Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, with both sides suggesting that issue be dealt with later — despite Trump citing Iran’s nuclear program as the main justification for the war.Iran said it had “come to the conclusion with the Americans” to postpone the topic until the later stages of negotiations, calling it “very complicated,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at a press conference in India on Friday.Trump also said aboard Air Force One that he’s willing to send US forces to remove Iran’s uranium “at the right time,” though he earlier suggested in a Fox News interview such a mission was “more for public relations than it is for anything else.”Iran’s highly enriched uranium, which has been in an unknown location since a US and Israeli bombing campaign in June last year, remains one of many obstacles to a peace agreement.Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. 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