U.S. president Donald Trump has said that his patience 'with Iran is running thin. He agreed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in their talks to not allow the Islamic Republic to possess a nuclear weapon. They also agreed the Strait of Hormuz must be reopened.

Trump said on Friday that he and Xi had solved a number of problems other people would not have been able solve. The talks included issues such as the Iran War, Taiwan, Trade, and others.

Iran 'effectively' closed the Strait to most shipping in response to U.S. - Israeli attacks that began on February 28. This caused an unprecedented disruption of global energy supply. China is Iran's main oil buyer and close to the country.

Last month, the U.S. temporarily halted its attacks against Iran but started a blockade on its ports. The talks to end the conflict are stalled because Iran refuses to give up its stockpile or stop its nuclear program. Tehran denies that it plans to build a nuke weapon.

Xi didn't comment on his conversations with Trump about Iran. However, China's Foreign Ministry issued a statement expressing Beijing's frustration over the Iran War.

The ministry stated that "This conflict should not have occurred and there is no reason for it to continue."

In an interview that aired Thursday night on Fox News "Hannity", Trump stated about Iran: "I will not be any more patient." They should reach a deal."

Trump suggested that the U.S. only had to secure the hidden Iranian stockpiles of enriched Uranium for purposes of public relations.

In the interview, Trump stated that he did not think it was necessary other than from a PR perspective.

"I feel better if it's mine, in fact." It's really more about 'public relations' than anything else.

The White House reported that after talks between Trump on Thursday and Xi, the leaders agreed that the strait be kept open. Xi also made it clear that China was opposed to any militarisation and to charging a toll for its use as Iran had threatened to do.

Trump said Xi had also promised to not send Iran military gear. Trump said that Xi's statement about not giving military equipment to Iran was a major one.

The White House's readout of the discussions said that Xi expressed a?interest in buying more American oil to decrease China's future dependency?on the strait.

Diplomacy on Hold

Trump wants to get Chinese support in order to end the war, which has turned into a liability for him as it drags out towards November's midterm elections. Analysts doubt Xi's willingness to press Iran or to end its support for its military given Iran's value as a counterweight to U.S.

Scott Bessent, U.S. Treasury secretary, said in an interview on CNBC, conducted from Beijing, that he believes China will "do whatever they can" to open the strait. This is "very much their interest." Prior to the war, a fifth or more of the world's oil and gas was transported through the waterway.

Diplomacy has been put on hold after Iran and the U.S. both rejected each other's most recent proposals last week.

The latest incident in the strait occurred on Wednesday when an Indian cargo ship carrying livestock from Africa into the United Arab Emirates sank in waters near the coast of Oman. India condemned the attack, and announced that all 14 crew had been rescued.

Vanguard, an advisory firm for maritime security in Britain, stated that the ship was hit by a?missile or drone, which caused an explosive explosion.

Separately the British maritime security agency UKMTO announced on Thursday that unauthorised personnel had boarded an anchored ship off the coasts of the UAE port Fujairah and were steering it toward Iran.

Vanguard reported that a company security officer had said "the vessel was stolen by Iranian personnel at anchor."

Fujairah, the UAE's only oil port, is located on the Gulf of Oman just outside of the Strait of Hormuz. This allows some shipments of oil to reach the market without having to pass through the chokepoint.

LEBANON TALKS

In the first few weeks of the conflict, thousands of Iranians were killed by U.S. airstrikes and Israeli missiles. Since then, the war has re-ignited the fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The talks between Lebanese officials and Israeli officials in Washington on Thursday were positive and productive, according to an official at the State Department, who stated that they would continue on Friday.

Trump stated that his goals in starting the war was to destroy Iran's nuke program, stop its ability to attack neighbours, and make it easier to the Iranians overthrow their government.

On Thursday, a senior U.S. Admiral testified to a U.S. Senate Committee that Iran's capability to threaten its neighbours and U.S. interests in the region had been "significantly weakened".

The Admiral Brad Cooper refused to address directly reports from and other news organizations that Iran retained significant missiles and drones capabilities.

Since the beginning of the war, Iran's leaders, who used violence to suppress anti-government demonstrations at the beginning of the year have not faced any organised opposition. Their grip on the Strait of Hormuz has given them an additional advantage in negotiations.

Iran wants the lifting of the sanctions, compensation for war damages and recognition of its control of the Strait. Reporting by Newsrooms; Writing by Stephen Coates, Editing by Raju Gopikrishnan

(source: Reuters)