China's top envoy meets with Iran's in Beijing as Trump pauses US effort in the Strait

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday evening helium was pausing the U.S. effort to usher stranded vessels retired of the Strait of Hormuz to let clip for a woody to extremity the Iran war, but that the American forces’ blockade of Iranian ports would stay successful place.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, successful Beijing connected Wednesday morning, the authoritative Xinhua quality bureau reported, without providing further details.

It was the archetypal clip since the commencement of the warfare that Araghchi has traveled to China, whose adjacent economical and governmental ties to Tehran springiness it a unsocial presumption of influence.

Earlier successful Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had expressed anticipation that Beijing would reiterate to Tehran the request to merchandise its chokehold connected the strait, which is simply a captious waterway for planetary energy.

Iran’s effectual closure of the strait, done which large lipid and state supplies passed earlier the war, on with fertilizer and different petroleum products, has sent substance prices skyrocketing and rattled the planetary economy. Breaking Iran’s grip would contradict its main root of leverage arsenic Trump demands a large rollback of Tehran’s disputed atomic program.

US to intermission latest efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Trump announced the determination successful a societal media post, saying the latest effort — which started Monday — would intermission for a abbreviated play to spot whether an statement with Tehran connected ending the warfare successful the Middle East could beryllium finalized.

Trump said the determination was based “on the petition of Pakistan and different Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we person had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the information that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran.”

The White House did not respond to a petition for remark oregon further item connected the advancement successful negotiations that Trump mentioned. They had appeared to person mostly stalled successful the struggle that started Feb. 28 erstwhile the United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran.

US officials accidental ceasefire is holding, contempt attacks connected UAE

The United Arab Emirates, a cardinal U.S. state successful the Persian Gulf, said it came nether onslaught from Iranian drones and missiles for a 2nd time Tuesday.

But U.S. subject leaders and Rubio insisted the astir month-old ceasefire was inactive holding and that — portion the struggle is not resolved — the archetypal large U.S. subject cognition against Iran has concluded.

Before the Trump announcement, Rubio told a White House property briefing that for bid to beryllium achieved, Iran indispensable hold to Trump’s demands connected its atomic programme and besides hold to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“We would similar the way of peace,” Rubio said.

Rubio besides described the day-old U.S. propulsion to reopen the strait to maritime postulation arsenic a antiaircraft operation, aimed astatine helping thousands of civilian sailors stranded determination by the war.

“They’re sitting ducks, they’re isolated, they’re starving, they’re vulnerable,” Rubio said. “At slightest 10 sailors person already died arsenic a result.”

On Monday, the U.S. said it had opened a lane and sunk six tiny Iranian boats that had threatened commercialized ships. So far, lone 2 merchant ships are known to person passed done the caller U.S.-guarded route, with hundreds much bottled up successful the Persian Gulf.

Iran says the caller US effort violates ceasefire

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the U.S. military’s apical officer, told a quality league that Iran’s renewed attacks had not reached the threshold of what Caine called “major combat operations.” He said Tuesday was a “quieter” time successful the strait.

At the White House, Rubio said clashes with Iran related to American efforts to reopen the consecutive were “defensive successful nature.”

“There’s nary shooting unless we’re changeable astatine first, OK?” Rubio said. “We’re not attacking them.”

Iran’s parliament talker and main negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, signaled that Iran has yet to afloat respond to the U.S. effort to reopen the waterway.

“We cognize afloat good that the continuation of the presumption quo is intolerable for America; portion we person not adjacent begun yet,” helium said successful a station connected X. His connection did not notation negotiations with the U.S. that are present successful the signifier of passing messages via Pakistan.

Disputing Washington’s assertion of sinking six Iranian boats, an Iranian subject commandant said 2 tiny civilian cargo boats were deed Monday, sidesplitting 5 civilians, Iran’s authorities TV reported.

Caine, the apical U.S. wide who serves arsenic president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said much than 100 U.S. subject craft are patrolling the skies implicit the strait. The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade connected Iranian ports since April 13, depriving Tehran of lipid gross it needs to enactment up its ailing economy.

The Trump medication has cited the April 8 ceasefire successful asserting that the president does not person to springiness a ceremonial update to Congress connected the warfare nether the War Powers Resolution. That instrumentality typically requires presidents to question ceremonial support from Congress for warfare activities 60 days aft opening subject action.

Shippers stay wary

So far, conscionable 2 civilian vessels, some U.S.-flagged merchant ships, are known to person passed done the strait arsenic portion of the lane the U.S. says it has created. Shipping institution Maersk said 1 of them, a conveyance bearer that it operates, exited the strait safely Monday with U.S. subject assistance.

Former subject officers who person served connected the strait person said opening the waterway that is conscionable 21 miles (34 kilometers) wide would beryllium unsafe and highly challenging, adjacent with subject escorts, which the U.S. is not providing now.

Hapag-Lloyd AG, 1 of the world’s largest instrumentality shipping companies, said successful a connection that its hazard appraisal “remains unchanged” and that transits done the strait “are for the infinitesimal not imaginable for our ships.”

Iran has attacked ships that effort to transit without going done its ain way successful the bluish portion of the strait on the Iranian coastline. That involves being vetted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and successful immoderate cases making a payment.

The U.S.-approved way goes done territorial waters of Oman to the south.

The UAE bore the brunt of Iran’s retaliation

The UAE’s Defense Ministry said it was responding to different Iranian drone and rocket onslaught connected Tuesday, though determination were nary reports of harm oregon casualties. A time earlier, it said Emirati aerial defenses had engaged 15 missiles and 4 drones from Iran, 1 of which sparked a occurrence astatine a cardinal lipid facility, wounding 3 Indian nationals.

The British subject reported 2 cargo vessels ablaze disconnected the UAE, besides connected Monday. On Tuesday, it reported that a cargo vas successful the strait had been struck by an “unknown projectile,” without further details.

Iran denied striking the UAE “in caller days,” according to a connection by Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesperson for Iran’s associated subject command, that was work Tuesday connected authorities TV.

___

Madhani and Finley reported from Washington, and Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers E. Eduardo Castillo successful Beijing; Farnoush Amiri astatine the United Nations; Collin Binkley and Matthew Lee successful Washington; Giovanna Dell'Orto successful Minneapolis; Sally Abou AlJoud successful Beirut; Sheikh Saaliq successful New Delhi; Meg Kinnard successful Columbia, South Carolina; Bill Barrow successful Atlanta; David McHugh successful Frankfurt, Germany; and Russ Bynum successful Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.