The meeting between a US president and Xi will be the first in nearly a decade. On the agenda: pressure on Iran, trade and Taiwan. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called the US sanctions on Chinese companies "illegal." A senior Taiwanese official told Bloomberg: "We fear being on the menu."
The US president says he rejected Iran's response after Tehran reportedly offered a 30-day negotiating window, sanctions relief and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while refusing to dismantle its nuclear facilities.
Iran is demanding a temporary ceasefire and the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, citing severe shortages of food, medicine and cash, and warning of the risk of hunger in parts of the country. The US is prepared to partially ease the naval blockade and release frozen funds, but is conditioning this on guarantees regarding the nuclear issue and the consent of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well.
As Washington awaits an Iranian replay on ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the new supreme leader met with the military top brass. A report submitted to him said: “Any enemy mistake will be met with force.” Meanwhile the UAE has intercepted two Iranian drones.
Iran’s unemployment rate has passed 50%, and the regime is feeling the pressure. Pakistan’s chief of staff promised the Americans he could bring Iran to a deal on the Strait of Hormuz and the nuclear issue, but so far he has failed. The reason: Every time the Iranian political echelon is prepared to compromise, the Revolutionary Guards stop the move and wait for cracks to appear on the American side.
Iranian reports say explosions were heard at several sites in the Strait of Hormuz area. According to an Israeli source, the Iranians fired missiles at a US warship after it prevented a tanker from passing through the strait, and the Americans returned fire. US official confirms: We struck Bandar Abbas, but this is not a restarting of the war.
Diplomatic officials in the region believe the reason for the delay in Iran’s response is Tehran’s demand to make changes to the emerging document before conveying its official position on it. According to the same officials, Iran is also walking back previous understandings regarding a ban on enrichment and the handover of enriched uranium.
According to a classified report by the CIA, Iran could withstand three to four months of a naval blockade. The report also says Iran still has about 75% of the mobile missile launchers it had before the war and about 70% of its ballistic missile stockpile. Satellite images from recent weeks document the regime’s reconstruction efforts.
The Wall Street Journal has revealed the document Washington sent Tehran, which demands that Iran fully divest itself of highly enriched material and stop enrichment for 15 years. In return, the US would end the blockade and lift some sanctions on Iran.
Netanyahu stressed at the start of the cabinet meeting that Israel and the US were acting in “full coordination” on the Iranian issue. “The most important goal is to remove all enriched material from Iran.” Trump said pressure on Tehran was continuing and that the Iranians “want to make a deal.” The US president made clear: “We will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. They have one week to reach a deal.”
