Trump threatens Iran with bombing if it does not reopen Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump threatened Iran with more bombing if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a report that an agreement is emerging to end the war.

Mr Trump posted on social media on Wednesday that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart.

But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the US president did not detail.

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Mr Trump wrote.

The US president’s threats came after China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war following a meeting with Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the US and Israel started February 28.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict.

China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence.

The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Mr Trump said on Tuesday that he was pausing his short-lived US effort to guide stranded commercial vessels out of the Strait of Hormuz in hopes that a deal could be finalised.

A shaky ceasefire has been largely holding, despite exchanges of fire during the US push to reopen the strait on Monday.

Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertiliser and other petroleum products passed before the war, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers like China.

The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around 100 dollars per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week.

The prices are still well above the roughly 70 dollars a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.

Mr Araghchi’s visit to China comes ahead of a planned visit by Mr Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit May 14-15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The trip would be Mr Trump’s first to China during his second term and the first by a US president since Mr Trump visited in 2017.

“We believe that a comprehensive ceasefire is urgently needed, that a resumption of hostilities is not acceptable, and that it is particularly important to remain committed to dialogue and negotiations,” Mr Wang said, according to a video of the meeting.

The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has already lasted for more than two months.

“It has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace. China is deeply distressed by this.”

In a televised interview with Iran’s state media from Beijing, Mr Araghchi said his visit included discussions of the Strait of Hormuz as well as Iran’s nuclear programme and sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Iran has attained “an elevated international standing” after the war, having proven its capabilities and strength, Mr Araghchi said.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio expressed hope that Beijing would reiterate the need for Iran to release its chokehold on the strait, which would deny its main leverage as Mr Trump demands a major rollback of Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Mr Rubio said during a White House briefing on Tuesday.

“And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Beijing has made clear that the relevant sides must act “with prudence” and resolve the conflict through dialogue in order to restore peace.

He added that China has been actively promoting peace talks and will continue to do so.

In a statement published on the ministry’s website about Wang’s meeting with Mr Araghchi, the foreign ministry said China values Iran’s pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons while affirming its “legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy”.

Hundreds of merchant ships remain bottled up in the Persian Gulf.

The US said it had opened a safe shipping lane on Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships in the strait.

Only two merchant ships are known to have passed through the US-guarded route.

But Mr Trump announced he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Mr Trump said the move was based “on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran”.

Pakistan has been mediating between the US and Iran, and had hosted peace talks between the two sides.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif thanked Mr Trump for what he described as a timely announcement of a pause in the effort to guide ships out of the strait.

In a post on X, Mr Sharif said Mr Trump’s response to requests from Pakistan and other countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, would help advance regional peace, stability and reconciliation.

“Pakistan remains firmly committed to supporting all efforts that promote restraint and a peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy,” Mr Sharif said.

“We are very hopeful that the current momentum will lead to a lasting agreement that secures durable peace and stability for the region and beyond.”