A ship was observed waiting to transit the Strait of Hormuz in the Arabian Sea off Muscat, Oman, Tuesday. UPI-Yonhap
U.S. President Donald Trump discussed the Iran war with China's President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, while new attacks on vessels near the Strait of Hormuz brought a reminder of the costs of a prolonged stalemate, with peace talks stalled.
After Trump and Xi met, a White House official said the leaders had agreed that the strait should be open, and that Iran should never obtain nuclear weapons. China is close to Iran and the main buyer of its oil.
In an interview with CNBC in Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he believed China would "do what they can" to help open the strait, which he said was "very much in their interest."
But diplomacy to end the war has been on hold since last week when Iran and the United States each rejected the other's latest proposals, sticking to initial demands that each considers to be "red lines."
Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to ships apart from its own since the United States and Israel launched their bombing campaign two-and-a-half months ago, causing the biggest ever disruption to global energy supplies. The U.S. paused the bombing last month but added a blockade of Iran's ports.
In the latest incident on the trade route, an Indian cargo vessel carrying livestock from Africa to the United Arab Emirates was sunk on Thursday in waters off the coast of Oman.
India condemned the attack and said all 14 crew members had been rescued by the Omani coastguard. Vanguard, a British maritime security advisory firm, said the vessel had been hit by a missile or drone which caused an explosion.
Separately, British maritime security agency UKMTO reported on Thursday that "unauthorised personnel" had boarded a ship anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah, and were steering it towards Iran.
Security in that area is particularly sensitive, as Fujairah is the UAE's sole oil port on the far side of the strait, allowing some exports to reach markets without passing through it. Iran included that part of the coast on an expanded map it released last week of waters it claimed were under its control.
Source: Korea Times News
