“US President Donald Trump said yesterday his patience with Iran was running out and that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but China gave no indication it would weigh in. His comments shed no light on whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started. “I’m not asking for any favours because, when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return,” Trump said, when asked by a reporter on board his plane whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait, a key waterway for oil shipments. 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. Trump has threatened to attack Iran again if it does not agree to a deal. “We don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon, we want the straits open,” Trump had said in Beijing, sitting alongside Xi. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had received messages from the US indicating Washington was willing to continue talks.
Original story
Continue reading at Gulf Times Qatar
www.gulf-times.com/qatar
Summary generated from the RSS feed of Gulf Times Qatar. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.gulf-times.com/qatar.