US Blockade Fans China Tensions as Further Iran War Diplomacy Pledged

The US and Iran have an “in principle agreement” to pursue further diplomacy and restart negotiations about a longer-term peace deal, the Associated Press reported. But traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely constrained, and President Donald Trump’s bid to block Iran from using it is angering China.

Trump stirred tentative market hopes for a resolution to the conflict yesterday, claiming the near seven-week war is “close to over.” A senior Iranian military official, however, said a prolonged US blockade of Hormuz would be “a prelude to a breach of the ceasefire.”

Shipping through Hormuz remains far below peacetime levels. Ship-tracking data Bloomberg has compiled show only 11 commercial ships were observed sailing through the strait yesterday. Last year, transits averaged 135 a day.

The US blockade prevents Iranian oil from reaching China, a major customer, and raises the risk of a confrontation between Chinese-aligned vessels and American Navy ships. China’s Foreign Ministry in Beijing blasted the US president’s naval blockade imposed this week as “dangerous and irresponsible.”

Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next month in Beijing in the first visit to the nation by a US president since 2017. — Philip Lagerkranser

Trump has said again that he would fire Jerome Powell if the Fed chair does not step down “in time,” though it’s unclear he has the legal power to do so without sufficient cause. Powell, whose stint leading the central bank ends in May but whose term on Board of Governors runs until 2028, has said he’d serve as chair pro tempore unless his successor is confirmed by May. Trump, who blames Powell for being too slow in cutting interest rates, also said he would not drop the Justice Department investigation into the central bank leader.