Trump: US, China aligned on Iran deal push

Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidy, Foreign Minister, held a telephone conversation with Dr Fuad Hussein, during which he congratulated him on his reappointment as Foreign Minister of the sisterly Republic of Iraq.
During the call, Sayyid Badr conveyed his sincere wishes for success to his Iraqi counterpart in carrying out his duties.
The two ministers underscored the deep fraternal relations between the two countries and expressed their keenness to further strengthen cooperation across various fields. They also exchanged views on a range of regional and international developments of mutual interest.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said his patience with Iran was running out and ​that Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed during their talks in Beijing that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said later he was considering whether to lift sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil imposed by Washington ahead of his trip to Beijing. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
However, his comments gave little indication of whether Beijing might use its influence with Tehran to end a conflict it said should never have started.
'I'm not asking for any favours because, when you ask for favours, you have to do favours in return', Trump said, when asked by a reporter on his plane home whether Xi had made any firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait.
'We've wiped out their (Iran's) armed ⁠forces, essentially. We may have to do a little cleanup work'. Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry issued a blunt statement outlining Beijing's frustration ⁠with the Iran war.
'This conflict, which should never have happened, has no reason to continue', the ministry said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had received messages from the US indicating Washington was willing to continue talks.
'We hope that, with ​the advancement of negotiations, we will reach a good conclusion so that ‌the Strait of Hormuz can be completely secured and we can expedite the normalisation of traffic through the strait', he told reporters in New Delhi.
Iran, which denies it intends to build a nuclear weapon, has refused to end its nuclear programme or relinquish its hidden stockpile of enriched uranium, to Trump's frustration.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out new strikes in southern Lebanon that it said targeted Hezbollah on Friday, wounding 37 people as the two countries' envoys started a second day of peace talks in Washington.
United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon Imran Riza condemned the 'unacceptable' toll from continued attacks, saying that 'diplomatic efforts now offer a critical opportunity to stop the violence'.
A correspondent reported a series of strikes, two of them near Tyre city, while state media said another targeted a centre run by a local NGO near a hospital. — Reuters/AFP