Trump says he doesn’t need China’s help to end Iran war

[WASHINGTON/LONDON/BAGHDAD] US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (May 12) that he does not think he will need China’s help to end the war with Iran, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Teheran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.

Ahead of a high-stakes summit in Beijing, Trump said that he did not think he would need to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the conflict, which has continued to bottle up maritime traffic that normally provides one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

“I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We will win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” he told reporters.

More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, the two sides have made no progress on an agreement that would end hostilities.

Iran, meanwhile, has appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Other countries are exploring similar deals, sources said, in a move that could normalise Teheran’s control of the waterway on a more permanent basis.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that senior US and Chinese officials had agreed last month that no country should be able to charge tolls on traffic through the region, in an effort to project consensus on the issue ahead of the summit.

China, which maintains ties with Iran and remains a major buyer of its oil, did not dispute that characterisation. Trump is due to discuss the war with Xi this week, and is widely expected to encourage China to convince Teheran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict.

US demands include ending Iran’s nuclear programme and lifting its chokehold on the strait. Iran has responded with demands of its own, including compensation for war damage, an end to the US blockade, and an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where US ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Trump dismissed those positions as “garbage” on Monday.

Oil extends gains

Brent crude oil futures extended gains, climbing to more than US$107 a barrel, as the deadlock left the Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

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US Central Command said that the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea enforcing the US blockade, where it had redirected 65 commercial vessels and disabled four others.

The Pentagon put the cost of the war at US$29 billion so far, an increase of US$4 billion from an estimate provided late last month. An official told lawmakers the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

The war has also driven up petrol prices across the US, where consumer prices rose at a brisk clip for a second straight month in April, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years.

Surveys show the war is unpopular with US voters, less than six months before nationwide elections that will determine whether Trump’s Republican Party retains control of Congress. Two out of three Americans, including one in three Republicans and almost all Democrats, think Trump has not clearly explained why the country has gone to war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday.

Iranian officials stand firm

Iranian officials remained defiant. A Fars news agency report cited an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official as saying Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz into a zone stretching from the coast of the city of Jask in the east to Siri Island in the west.

In Teheran, the Guards held drills “centred on preparation to confront the enemy”, state TV reported. REUTERS