Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 14, 2026 (Source: AP)
United States President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping were in agreement that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be opened to support global energy needs, according to a readout by a White House official about their meeting on Thursday, May 14.
Xi also opposed any implementation of tolls on vessels crossing the strait, which has effectively been closed since the start of the US and Israel war against Iran.
Xi expressed interest in China purchasing more US oil to reduce future Chinese dependence on Gulf oil, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The two sides also agreed that Iran “can never have a nuclear weapon,” White House wrote in a statement.
This comes as Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing an “informed source,” that Iran started allowing Chinese vessels to pass the Strait of Hormuz
According to the official, the arrangement was based on the “deep relations” and “strategic partnership” between the two countries.
Meanwhile, its state broadcaster IRIB said around 30 vessels have crossed the critical waterway with Iran’s authorisation since Wednesday.
Iran said it will not enter more talks with the United States unless Washington meets five conditions, including paying reparations for the war and accepting Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported, citing an informed source.
The White House is again unlikely to accept those demands, especially formalizing Iran’s control over the waterway, which was open to international traffic before the war.
Iran’s senior vice president, Mohammadreza Aref, said Thursday that the strait belongs to Iran and that Tehran would not give it up “at any price,” state TV reported. “It has always been our property,” Aref said.
The delegations of Lebanon and Israel have arrived at the State Department headquarters in Washington for a fresh round of negotiations as the present ceasefire, ignored by Israel consistently, is set to expire on Sunday.
The direct talks will reportedly be held on Thursday and Friday, including the participation of diplomatic figures from both sides, along with US officials. The discussion will start after 9 am local time (6:30 pm IST).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that the US-Iran war has created significant hurdles for regional economies, including Pakistan, as he urged people to make concerted efforts to transform the country into an economic power.
PM Shehbaz made the comments in his televised opening remarks at the federal cabinet meeting, where he also talked about May 28, 1998, when Pakistan carried out nuclear tests.
Referring to the US-Iran conflict, he said that while a temporary ceasefire was currently in place, the war had created significant hurdles for regional economies, including Pakistan.
He said that the government’s economic team had made collective efforts over the past two years. “This is a long and difficult journey. However, nations that commit to facing and overcoming their challenges are the ones that ultimately meet with success,” he said
He said that just as Pakistan had become a nuclear power, “we have to turn it into an economic power with the same commitment and hard work”.
Shehbaz also said that Pakistan gained a power that would remain a “defensive asset” of the country.
“It is our national narrative that this asset is for defence, not offence. And this is the reason that the world knows Pakistan as a responsible nuclear power,” he said.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs informed that an Indian-flagged vessel was attacked off the coast of Oman on Wednesday, May 12, thanking the Omani authorities for rescuing its crew members.
Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal shared an official statement, calling the attack “unacceptable.”
“We deplore the fact that commercial shipping and civilian mariners continue to be targeted,” the statement read.
The MEA said India reiterates that “targeting commercial shipping and endangering innocent civilian crew members, or otherwise impeding freedom of navigation and commerce, should be avoided.”
The vessel was sailing from Somalia and the strike triggered a fire that led to sinking of the vessel, it is learnt.
The crew members were rescued by Oman’s Coast Guard and taken to Diba port.
At least two other Indian-flagged ships have been attacked since the war between the US and Iran began on February 28.
A Hezbollah drone exploded inside Israel, injuring three civilians, two of them severely, according to the Israeli military and hospitals. Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-constant fire across the border despite a US-brokered ceasefire on April 17.
Hezbollah has frequently used drones to attack Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and over the border in northern Israel. The Israeli air force has struck areas across southern Lebanon.
Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of direct talks in Washington on Thursday, as the Trump administration pushes for a breakthrough between the two neighbours that have been in a state of war since Israel was created in 1948.
The United Nations has also accused Hezbollah of drone strikes near its peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon. Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to both sides is that they must observe the ceasefire and stop all attacks, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that since the war began on March 2, at least 2,896 people have been killed and 8,824 wounded. Eighteen Israeli soldiers and a defence contractor have been killed in southern Lebanon.
While the US-Iran talks to end the war hang in the balance, foreign ministers from the BRICS nations began a two-day meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, May 14, to discuss the growing global economic uncertainty caused by the war.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi addressed the 10-nation meeting, drawing attention to the war on his nation. From Tehran’s perspective, the Strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial ships as long as they coordinate with Iran’s naval forces, he said.
“As you have all witnessed, my country has within the span of less than a year twice been subjected to brutal and unlawful aggression by the United States and Israel,” Araghchi said.
“The attacks on my people have been justified with false claims that run counter to the informed assessments of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and even America’s own intelligence community.
“The truth is that Iran – like many other independent nations – is the victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering. These are ugly things which have no place in today’s world,” he said.
“Those who pursue reckless adventures may believe it furthers their geopolitical interests. But as consumers and governments around the world now sense and understand, regional instability is a lose-lose proposition for all sides – including the aggressors,” he added.
BRICS brings together diplomats from the founding member states, Brazil, Russia, India, and China, along with newer member countries. It comes as the war in Iran has disrupted global energy supplies and driven up oil prices and coincides with US President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov is also attending. China is represented by Ambassador Xu Feihong, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi remains in the Chinese capital during Trump’s visit.
BRICS was formed as a grouping of major emerging economies seen as a counterbalance to Western-led institutions and sought to expand its influence for a larger role in the global order long dominated by the US and its Western allies.
A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorised personnel while anchored 38 nautical miles (70 kilometers) northeast of the UAE port of Fujairah, near the Strait of Hormuz.
UKMTO did not name the ship and said it is investigating.
Fujairah is an important oil export terminal and the UAE’s main port outside of the Persian Gulf. It has been repeatedly attacked during the war with Iran.
Two India-bound liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carriers are reported to have passed the Strait of Hormuz amid reports of an attack on an Indian vessel off the coast of Oman.
The two LPG carriers add to a recent increase in energy shipments through the waterway, even as the US and Iran’s respective restrictions are being enforced.
The LPG carriers were identified as Symi and NV Sunshine. The NV Sunshine loaded LPG at the Ruwais refinery in the UAE, with its last reported location showing east of Iran’s Larak Island early Thursday, and Mangalore, Karnataka as its destination.
Transporting fuel from Qatar’s Ras Laffan, the Symi is heading towards Kandla in Gujarat.
A series of small earthquakes struck east of Tehran overnight, Mehr news agency reported on Wednesday. The nine tremors recorded over a single night were felt near the Mosha fault, one of Iran’s most active seismic zones.
It has renewed concerns among residents and experts that the country’s capital could be dealt with a major seismic disaster, as repeated activity has been reported.
One of the earthquakes was recorded at 4.6 magnitude, state media reported, adding that the mild tremor didn’t cause injuries or material damage.
Crude oil prices on Thursday rose by Rs 14 to Rs 9,725 per barrel in futures trade, as participants increased their positions following a firm spot demand.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange, crude oil for June delivery traded higher by Rs 14 or 0.14 per cent at Rs 9,725 per barrel in 3,577 lots.
Analysts said the rise of bets by participants kept crude oil prices higher in futures trade.
Globally, West Texas Intermediate crude was trading 0.51 per cent higher at USD 101.54 per barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.53 per cent to USD 106.19 per barrel in New York.
Gold prices rose marginally by 0.21 per cent in futures trade on Thursday as traders tracked ongoing talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the yellow metal for June delivery rose by Rs 334, or 0.21 per cent, to Rs 1,62,520 per 10 grams in a business turnover of 8,220 lots.
The metal had surged by Rs 8,744, or nearly 6 per cent, to settle at Rs 1,62,186 per 10 grams in the previous session following the government’s decision to raise import duties on precious metals.
The duty hike follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s clarion call for curbs on gold purchases, along with other austerity measures, to reduce avoidable foreign-exchange expenditure.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that Tehran was building a massive arsenal as a precursor to a nuclear weapon, which Iran has repeatedly denied trying to acquire.
“Iran was building up a conventional capability, where they would have so many missiles and so many drones, that they could overwhelm anyone’s defences,” Rubio told Fox News.
“They were going to have so many drones and missiles that no one could attack Iran, because the result would be catastrophic for the region – and once they had that immunity, then they would break out towards a weapon,” he claimed.
Trump said, “That’s impossible”, he added.
A series of overnight Israeli attacks, combined with early morning strikes, have targeted several locations across Lebanon, the National News Agency reported.
According to the Lebanese news agency, the airstrikes on residential neighbourhoods in the Zibqin area injured nine people, including four women. The victims were evacuated to hospitals in Tyre. Separately, a raid on the town of Aaitit reportedly caused more casualties.
In Ture district, warplanes targeted al-Mansouri, simultaneously launching heavy artillery shelling in the area along with al-Haniya and al-Qulayla.
Additional attacks were reported near the Litani River, specifically an area beneath Beufort Castle, which was built during the 12th-Century Crusader era.
Malaysia’s maritime agency says Iranian-linked tankers are exploiting “jurisdictional gaps” to conduct ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned oil near its waters, rejecting allegations that authorities ignored a long-running trade allowing Iran to evade US sanctions.
US-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and shipping industry observers say waters near Malaysia’s southern Johor state have become a key hub for ship-to-ship transfers involving Iran’s “shadow fleet,” aging tankers that often operate with disabled tracking systems, false identities and opaque ownership structures to conceal the origins of crude bound largely for China.
The area, known as the Eastern Outer Port Limits, or EOPL, in the South China Sea is about 70 kilometres off Johor. It lies along one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes and is about halfway between Iran and China, which buys about 90 per cent of Iranian oil.
Clandestine high-seas transfers from Iranian-linked tankers have persisted for years, allowing Tehran to sell its crude while offering buyers plausible deniability about the oil’s source.
While not illegal, Malaysia discourages unsanctioned transfers outside designated areas, where such operations can be supervised, as they greatly increase the likelihood of a spill, involve aging vessels and are carried out far from ports where mistakes could be more easily contained.
Despite a US blockade of Iranian ports that started in mid-April, UANI said it has tracked Iranian-linked tankers still operating, though it is not clear how many are now getting through.
As of Tuesday, two dozen Iranian-linked tankers tracked by UANI were anchored or loitering near the EOPL area used for transfers off Johor, though it was not clear how many had sailed before the blockade began.
This post was last modified on May 14, 2026 7:47 pm