New attacks are reported on ships near the Strait of Hormuz while U.S. President Donald Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing to discuss the Iran war, according to multiple outlets. After their meeting, a White House official says Trump and Xi agree the strait should remain open and that Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tells CNBC from Beijing that he believes China will “do what they can” to help keep the strait open, citing that it is in China’s interest.
Diplomacy aimed at ending the fighting is described as stalled. Talks are paused after last week Iran and the United States each rejected the other’s latest proposals, each insisting on its own “red lines.” Since the United States and Israel began a bombing campaign about two-and-a-half months ago, sources say Iran largely restricts access to the strait to its own vessels, with the disruption cited as the biggest ever for global energy supplies. The outlets also frame the fresh attacks near Hormuz as a sign of the ongoing costs of the stalemate.
