Reuters, ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/DUBAI
US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, although China gave no indication it would weigh in.Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.“I’m not asking for any favors, because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return,” Trump said when asked whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on Iran to reopen the vital strait.
US President Donald Trump, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday.
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Iran war, “which should never have happened, has no reason to continue.”Iran effectively shut the strait after the US and Israel launched attacks on Feb. 28.
Washington paused its attacks last month, but began a port blockade. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the US ended its blockade, while Trump has threatened to resume attacks if Iran does not agree to a deal.“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing, alongside Xi.Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the US indicating Washington was willing to continue talks.Iran would welcome Chinese input, Araqchi said, adding that Tehran was trying to give diplomacy a chance, but did not trust the US, which has curtailed previous rounds of talks by launching airstrikes.
