ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/DUBAI (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their talks in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said later that he was considering whether to lift sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil imposed by Washington ahead of his trip to China.
But his comments gave little indication of whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started.
“We’ve settled a lot of different problems that other people wouldn’t have been able to settle,” Trump said on Friday after he met Xi in Beijing on the second day of talks which included the Iran war, Taiwan, trade and other issues.
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China’s foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining Beijing’s frustration with the Iran war.
“This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue,” the ministry said.
Iran effectively shut the strait to most shipping traffic in response to U.S.-Israeli attacks which began on February 28, causing an unprecedented disruption to global energy supplies.
The U.S. paused its attacks on Iran last month but began a blockade of the country’s ports. Tehran said it would not unblock the strait until the U.S. ended its blockade. Trump has threatened to attack Iran again if it does not agree a deal.
“We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump said in Beijing sitting alongside Xi.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received messages from the U.S. indicating Washington was willing to continue talks. He did not immediately elaborate.
Iran, which denies it intends to build a nuclear weapon, has refused to end its nuclear program or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Trump’s frustration.
“I am not going to be much more patient. They should make a deal,” Trump said in an interview aired on Thursday night on Fox News’ “Hannity” program, suggesting the enriched uranium only needed to be secured by the U.S. for public relations purposes.
Oil prices rose around 3% to near $109 a barrel on concerns over a lack of progress in resolving the conflict.
After talks between Trump and Xi on Thursday, the White House said that Xi had made clear China’s opposition to any Iranian effort to charge a toll for use of the strait.
Trump said Xi also promised not to send Iran military equipment. “That’s a big statement,” Trump said on “Hannity”.
Asked about U.S. sanctions on Chinese oil refineries buying Iranian oil, he told reporters on his plane home: “We talked about that and I’m going to make a decision over the next few days.”
