The US military said it fired on an Iranian oil tanker as Donald Trump sought to pressure Tehran into reaching a deal to end the war.
An American fighter jet shot out the rudder of the tanker in the Gulf of Oman as it tried to breach the US military’s blockade of Iran’s ports, US Central Command said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The attack occurred as Iran and the US are officially in a ceasefire and as the two countries appeared to be moving closer to an initial agreement to end the war.
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, right, meets with Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, China(Telegram channel of the Iranian Foreign Minister via AP) (AP)
Mr Trump threatened Tehran with a new wave of bombing if a deal is not reached that includes opening the critical Strait of Hormuz.
The US president posted on social media on Wednesday that the two-month war could soon end and that oil and natural gas shipments disrupted by the conflict could restart.
But he said that depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the president did not detail.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Mr Trump wrote.
In other developments, Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs for the first time since a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group was announced on April 17.
Fighting has continued since then in southern Lebanon.
Oil tankers sit at anchor offshore in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA/AP) (Amirhosein Khorgooi/AP)
The last strikes in Beirut were on April 8, when a series of massive Israeli strikes, including in central Beirut, killed more than 350 people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday’s strike, which came without warning, targeted a commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
Hezbollah did not immediately comment.
Buildings destroyed in previous Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon (Bilal Hussein/AP) (Bilal Hussein/AP)
Mr Trump made his latest comments after he suspended a short-lived US effort to force open a safe passage for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertiliser and other petroleum products passed before the war.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers such as China.
China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire on Wednesday after meeting in Beijing with Iran’s top envoy.
(PA Graphics/Press Association Images)
Wang Yi said his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict, which began on February 28 when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran.
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.
The White House believes it is near an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum to end the war, according to reporting by Axios.
There is not an agreement yet, but the provisions include a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, lifting of US sanctions, distribution of frozen Iranian funds and opening the strait for ships.
The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the possible agreement.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio listens to a reporter in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Mr Trump said in his social media post that it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the US.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Mr Trump said.
A shaky ceasefire between the US and Tehran has largely held since it began April 8.
Pakistan hosted in-person talks last month between Iran and a US delegation led by vice president JD Vance, but the talks failed to result in a deal.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China was his first since the war began.
His arrival came ahead of a planned visit by Mr Trump to Beijing for a high-profile summit on May 14 and 15 with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Pro-government demonstrators attend a gathering at Enqelab-e-Eslami, or Islamic Revolution square, in Tehran, Iran (Vahid Salemi/AP) (Vahid Salemi/AP)
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 in a video of the meeting.
The Chinese foreign minister said the conflict “has not only caused serious losses to the Iranian people, but also had a severe impact on regional and global peace”.
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, its main source of leverage, as Mr Trump demands a major rollback of its disputed nuclear programme.
People walk past a billboard with a graphic showing the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in central Tehran (Vahid Salemi/AP) (Vahid Salemi/AP)
A statement published on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website 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, unable to reach the open sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US said it had opened a safe shipping lane through the strait on Monday and sunk six small Iranian boats that had threatened commercial ships.
But Mr Trump announced on Tuesday he was pausing the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, to see whether an agreement with Tehran on ending the war could be reached.
A cargo container ship operated by the CMA CGM Group was damaged, and multiple crew members were wounded when it came under attack while transiting the strait on Tuesday, the French shipping company said without providing details.
The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around 100 dollars per barrel on 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.