US President Donald Trump said on Friday his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their Beijing talks that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in remarks made after he departed China on Air Force One.
Trump told reporters the US and China were “on the same page” on Iran and that Xi had been “very helpful” on the issue, with both leaders agreeing to keep the strait open for global commerce. “We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” he said in Beijing, sitting alongside Xi. He added in a Fox News “Hannity” interview that aired Thursday night: “I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal.”
Oil prices rose about 3% to near $109 a barrel as traders priced in the lack of breakthrough in resolving the conflict, with Hormuz still effectively shut. Iran has said it will not unblock the strait until Washington ends its naval blockade of Iranian ports; Trump has separately threatened to attack again if no deal is reached.
Trump also said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil refineries buying Iranian oil that were imposed ahead of his China trip, telling reporters on his plane home, “I’m going to make a decision over the next few days.” The White House said Xi had reassured Washington he would not supply Iran with military equipment — “That’s a big statement,” Trump told Hannity.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the US indicating Washington was willing to continue talks but that Iran did not trust the Americans. He reiterated that vessels not linked to states attacking Iran could traverse the strait, and said Tehran was prepared “for fighting as well as for diplomatic solutions.” Talks mediated by Pakistan have been on hold since last week after both sides rejected each other’s most recent proposals.
China’s foreign ministry, while not detailing Xi’s discussions, said the war “should never have happened” and “has no reason to continue.” Analysts doubt Xi will push Iran hard or end Chinese support for its military, given Tehran’s value as a strategic counterweight to Washington.
The remarks build on Trump’s Beijing summit wrap-up — at which Xi received a September 24 White House invitation and the two governments framed the agenda as “strategic stability” — and on the earlier mediation offer Trump publicly aired before Rubio downplayed it. For Sri Lanka, the $109 oil baseline keeps fuel import costs near the Rs.720 per litre estimate AKD cited for CPC’s last diesel shipment and adds urgency to the Rs.100 diesel subsidy under IMF cost-recovery scrutiny.
