Trump dismisses China’s role as Gulf conflict escalates

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he does not think he will need China's help to end the war with Iran, even as hopes for a lasting peace deal dwindled and Tehran tightened its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.

Ahead of a high-stakes summit in Beijing, Trump said he did not think he would need to enlist Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the conflict, which has continued to bottle up maritime traffic that normally provides one-fifth of the world's oil supply.

"I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise," he told reporters.

More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, the two sides have made no progress on an agreement that would end hostilities.

Iran, meanwhile, has appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. Other countries are exploring similar deals, sources said, in a move that could normalize Tehran's control of the waterway on a more permanent basis.

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that senior U.S. and Chinese officials had agreed last month that no country should be able to charge tolls on traffic through the region, in an effort to project consensus on the issue ahead of the summit.

China, which maintains ties with Iran and remains a major buyer of its oil, did not dispute that characterization.

Trump is due to discuss the war with Xi this week, and is widely expected to encourage China to convince Tehran to make a deal with Washington to end the conflict.

U.S. demands include ending Iran's nuclear program and lifting its chokehold on the strait.

Iran has responded with demands of its own, including compensation for war damage, an end to the U.S. blockade, and an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where U.S. ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Trump dismissed those positions as "garbage" on Monday.

OIL EXTENDS GAINS

Brent crude oil futures extended gains, climbing to more than $107 a barrel, as the deadlock left the Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

U.S. Central Command said the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln was in the Arabian Sea enforcing the U.S. blockade, where it had redirected 65 commercial vessels and disabled four others.

The Pentagon put the cost of the war at $29 billion so far, an increase of $4 billion from an estimate provided late last month. An official told lawmakers the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

The war also has driven up gasoline prices across the U.S., where consumer prices rose at a brisk clip for a second straight month in April, resulting in the largest annual increase in inflation in nearly three years.

Surveys show the war is unpopular with U.S. voters less than six months before nationwide elections that will determine whether Trump's Republican Party retains control of Congress.

Two out of three Americans, including one in three Republicans and almost all Democrats, think Trump has not clearly explained why the country has gone to war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday.

IRANIAN OFFICIALS STAND FIRM

Iranian officials remained defiant.

A Fars news agency report cited an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official as saying Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz into a zone stretching from the coast of the city of Jask in the east to Siri Island in the west.

In Tehran, the Guards held drills "centred on preparation to confront the enemy", state TV reported.