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(AWP Alliance News) - China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would play a 'greater role' in ending hostilities in the Middle East during talks with his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday, a week before US President Donald Trump is due to meet Xi Jinping. China is a key customer for Iranian oil, defying sanctions imposed by the US, and is directly affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz bordered by Iran. Beijing has quietly engaged in efforts to resolve the weekslong crisis and its diplomacy is credited with playing an important role in the fragile ceasefire agreed between Washington and Tehran. China 'will work harder to ease tensions and end the fighting, continue to support the launch of peace talks, and play a greater role in restoring peace and tranquility to the Middle East', Wang told Iran's Abbas Araghchi in Beijing. 'China considers that a complete cessation of fighting must be achieved without delay, that it is even more unacceptable to restart hostilities, and that continuing to negotiate remains essential,' Wang said, according to a statement from his ministry after the talks. Manufacturing giant China has been comparatively sheltered from fuel shortages thanks to oil reserves and renewable energy, but costs of oil-derived materials like plastic and fabric have risen significantly. More than half of the crude imported by sea to China comes from the Middle East and mainly transits through the Hormuz strait, according to maritime analytics firm Kpler. Analysts have warned the war's impact on China will be felt for months.  During Wednesday's talks Wang said China hopes 'the parties concerned will respond as quickly as possible to the urgent call of the international community' for a resumption of normal and safe maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The Wang-Araghchi talks came as Trump said the US would pause escorting commercial ships through the Hormuz Strait - which drew Iranian attacks - barely a day after it began doing so. Trump cited a desire to reach a peace deal with Iran. Washington demands tight controls on Tehran's nuclear programme, which Iran has refused to agree to and has led to talks crumbling. 'On the nuclear issue, China welcomes Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, while considering that Iran has the legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy,' Wang said. The US leader is expected to meet Chinese President Xi in Beijing on a visit the White House said will take place May 14-15. Beijing has not confirmed those dates.  A foreign ministry spokesman again refused to share details when asked about Trump's visit at a regular news conference on Wednesday. Trump would join rulers from the Gulf, Europe and Southeast Asia that have recently landed face time with Xi, who has sought to position China as a stable partner in the face of the US- and Israeli-led conflict. Trump's visit would also come more than a year after his sweeping global tariffs wreaked havoc on the supply chain, causing chaos in China's manufacturing sector. source: AFP Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - President Donald Trump said he was pausing the US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz shortly after it began, citing a chance to seal a deal that would end two months of war with Iran. The US leader said Washington's blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place as Tehran kept up its own closure of the vital trade route in response to the US-Israeli war on the country, which has rocked markets and spiked fuel prices. Trump wrote on social media that the decision to halt his so-called 'Project Freedom' a day after it began came after requests from 'mediator Pakistan and other countries', saying 'Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement' with Tehran. 'We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,' Trump wrote late Tuesday. The decision means more than 22,000 seafarers and 1,500 commercial ships are still waiting to transit the strait, according to US officials. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif - a key mediator in the Middle East war - wrote on X that he was 'hopeful' the current momentum would bring help bring an end to the conflict with a 'lasting agreement.' Trump made the abrupt U-turn as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing for talks on Wednesday, his first trip to Tehran's close ally since the beginning of the war. According to Iranian state TV, Araghchi told Wang that Tehran would 'only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement.' After the talks, Wang called for an end to hostilities and for both countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz 'as soon as possible,' his ministry said. Before the visit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a vocal China critic, called on Beijing to put pressure on Araghchi to end the blockade of the crucial waterway. 'I hope the Chinese tell him [Araghchi] what he needs to be told, and that is that what you were doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated,' Rubio said. Trump's tone came hours after Rubio said the US had completed its offensive operations against Iran. Investors welcomed the decision to pause the ship-guiding plan, with Brent oil price tumbling more than five percent and West Texas Intermediate back below USD100 a barrel. Araghchi was visiting China days before Trump is also scheduled to visit on May 14 and 15 to meet President Xi Jinping - a trip he had delayed due to the war. The Iranian minister later held a phone call about the war with Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Iranian media said, as back-channel diplomacy to find a solution continues. But progress in talks has largely stalled since a first round of negotiations in Pakistan last month ended without a deal as Tehran maintains its grip on the Hormuz strait, giving it key leverage. Despite Rubio's announcement of the end to 'Operation Epic Fury', the standoff in the vital waterway has led to claims of attacks by both sides. Iran fired missiles and drones at US forces on Monday, while Washington said it struck six Iranian boats it accused of threatening commercial shipping. The United Arab Emirates said it had engaged a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran for the second consecutive day on Tuesday - an accusation denied by Tehran. It was the sharpest escalation since a truce took effect on April 8. A container ship owned by French shipping company CMA CGM was also the 'target of an attack' in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the major shipping firm said. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Washington was 'not looking for a fight' over the waterway and downplayed the latest Iranian attacks while warning that any more would be met with a 'devastating response'. Washington and Gulf have meanwhile drafted a UN Security Council resolution demanding Tehran halt attacks, disclose the location of mines and end efforts to charge tolls, Rubio said. The proposed measure would also require Iran to support a humanitarian corridor, with a vote expected in the coming days. Despite that resolution, Iran's powerful chief negotiator said on Tuesday that Tehran 'had not even started yet' in the Hormuz strait. On another front, Israel's military on Wednesday issued a new evacuation warning for a dozen villages in southern Lebanon. Israeli bombardment later hit at least two villages including one near a 12-century Crusader-era castle, according to AFP images.  Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have kept up their attacks despite a ceasefire in Lebanon. On Iran, Israel's new air force chief said Tuesday the country was prepared to deploy its entire fleet of fighter jets against Iran if necessary. Israel's military chief of staff Eyal Zamir also said the country remained 'on high alert across all fronts'.  By AFP teams in Washington, Tehran and Dubai source: AFP Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

(AWP Alliance News) - The US believes it's getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the Middle East war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations, Axios reported on Wednesday. The one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding is being negotiated between US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and several Iranian officials, both directly and through mediators, the report said. According to Axios sources, the US expects Iranian responses on several key points in the next 48 hours. Nothing has been agreed yet, but the sources said this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began. In its current form, the MOU would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the Strait of Hormuz, limit Iran's nuclear program and lift US sanctions, Axios said. Those negotiations could happen in Islamabad or Geneva. The deal would see both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the report also noted the White House believes the Iranian leadership is divided and it may be hard to forge consensus across the different factions, with some US officials sceptical that even an initial deal will be reached. The report saw oil prices drop sharply on Wednesday, although Brent crude remains above USD100 per barrel. Stock markets rose in Europe, with the FTSE 100 in London up 2.2%, the DAX 40 in Frankfurt up 2.3% and the CAC 40 rising 2.4%. By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.