EXPLAINER<\/p>\n
The US and Chinese leaders agreed during talks in Beijing that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open to ensure global energy supplies.<\/p>\n
Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026<\/p>\n
United States President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the Strait of Hormuz<\/a> during talks in Beijing, with the White House saying Xi agreed the strategic waterway \u201cmust remain open to support the free flow of energy\u201d as tensions over the Iran war continue to roil global markets.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged fellow BRICS nations at a meeting in New Delhi, India, to condemn the US-Israel war on Iran as a violation of international law, insisting Tehran would \u201cnever bow to any pressure\u201d.<\/p>\n At the same time, a third round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli negotiators is under way in Washington, DC, aimed at ending hostilities, even as Israeli attacks continue across towns and villages in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n Here is what we know:<\/p>\n In Iran Trump-Xi summit held amid \u2018promise fatigue\u2019: Analyst Drew Thompson said Washington and Beijing remain deeply distrustful after years of unmet expectations, with both sides accusing the other of breaking promises. He described the summit as \u201ccarefully managed\u201d and focused on preventing further deterioration in ties.<\/p>\n US says Israel-Lebanon talks \u2018positive\u2019: A US official said talks in Washington on Thursday between Israel and Lebanon about an expiring ceasefire were \u201cpositive\u201d and will take place as planned for a second day.
\nIran urges BRICS to condemn US and Israel: Araghchi told the BRICS+ bloc that Iran was a \u201cvictim of illegal expansionism and warmongering\u201d and called on member states to oppose \u201cWestern hegemony\u201d by condemning the actions of the US and Israel.
\nIran accuses UAE over war: Araghchi also accused the United Arab Emirates of playing an active role in the war against Iran, saying during the BRICS summit in India that the UAE was \u201cdirectly involved in the aggression against my country\u201d.
\nIran signals new Hormuz strategy: Iranian media reported that more than 30 ships, including some linked to Chinese companies, were allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz overnight as Tehran signalled the waterway was \u201copen to all commercial ships\u201d that cooperate with Iranian naval forces.
\nWar diplomacy
\nXi offers help on Hormuz: Trump said Xi Jinping had offered China\u2019s help<\/a> to open the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel.<\/p>\n
\nIn the US
\nTrump wants Iran\u2019s uranium for \u2018public relations\u2019: The US president\u00a0suggested that hunting down Iran\u2019s enriched uranium was primarily for political optics, after Israel demanded it as a goal in the war. \u201cI just feel better if I got it, actually, but it\u2019s \u2013 I think, it\u2019s more for public relations than it is for anything else,\u201d Trump told Fox News.
\nTrump says Iran must make deal: In the same interview, Trump told Sean Hannity he was running out of patience to reach a truce with Iran as peace talks have stalled. \u201cI\u2019m not going to be much more patient\u2026 They should make a deal. Any sane person would make a deal, but they might be crazy,\u201d Trump said.
\nIn Israel
\nNYT lawsuit: Israel says it will sue The New York Times<\/a> after the newspaper published an article by columnist Nicholas Kristof detailing rape allegations by Palestinian detainees against Israeli forces. The Israeli Prime Minister\u2019s Office announced the legal move three days after the report, which was based on accounts from 14 male and female Palestinian victims.
\nIn Lebanon and Syria
\nHezbollah claims attacks on Israeli forces: The group said it launched rockets, drones and artillery attacks on Israeli troops and military vehicles in southern Lebanon, and claimed to have downed Israeli drones.
\nIsrael-Lebanon talks face uncertainty: According to Al Jazeera\u2019s Manuel Rapalo, Israel is seeking stronger security guarantees and Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament, while Lebanon wants a permanent ceasefire and Israeli troop withdrawal from the south. Rapalo says Hezbollah\u2019s refusal to commit to any future agreement adds significant uncertainty, although diplomats still view the talks as a breakthrough.
\nAmnesty urges Israel to conduct Syria war crimes probe: The rights group called for investigations into Israeli raids and shelling in southern Syria, which residents say have destroyed homes and farmland and led to detentions. Israel has also seized additional territory beyond the occupied Golan Heights, in violation of the 1974 disengagement agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"EXPLAINER The US and Chinese leaders agreed during talks in Beijing that the Strait of Hormuz should remain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[178,262,44,34,37,93,49,42,51,73,986],"class_list":{"0":"post-114793","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran","8":"tag-asia-pacific","9":"tag-china","10":"tag-explainer","11":"tag-iran","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-lebanon","14":"tag-middle-east","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-us-israel-war-on-iran","18":"tag-xi-jinping"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116577176290433269","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}