Middle East crisis live: Trump seeks to delay summit with China’s Xi amid Iran war; US embassy in Baghdad reportedly targeted in air attack
Trump seeks to delay China trip because of Iran war
Donald Trump has said his trip to China this month to meet with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, could be delayed by “a month or so”.
But a key Trump administration official insisted the move was not to press Beijing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz.
Trump said:
We’re speaking to China. I would love to, but because of the war, I want to be here.
We have requested that we delay it a month or so, and I’m looking forward to meeting with him. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here. So it could be that we delay it a little bit, not much.
Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, earlier cast doubt on the trip but insisted this was not to pressure Beijing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz, telling CNBC:
We will see whether the visit takes place as scheduled. But what I do want to parse, and there’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president’s demanded that China police the straits of Hormuz.
Key events
The United Arab Emirates’ air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone attacks from Iran, the Gulf state’s ministry of defence has just said.
It posted on social media that sounds being heard there are from air defences intercepting ballistic missiles and fighter jets intercepting drones and loitering munitions.
Trump seeks to delay China trip because of Iran war
Donald Trump has said his trip to China this month to meet with the country’s leader, Xi Jinping, could be delayed by “a month or so”.
But a key Trump administration official insisted the move was not to press Beijing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz.
Trump said:
We’re speaking to China. I would love to, but because of the war, I want to be here.
We have requested that we delay it a month or so, and I’m looking forward to meeting with him. We’ve got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here. So it could be that we delay it a little bit, not much.
Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, earlier cast doubt on the trip but insisted this was not to pressure Beijing to help unblock the strait of Hormuz, telling CNBC:
We will see whether the visit takes place as scheduled. But what I do want to parse, and there’s a false narrative out there that if the meetings are delayed, it wouldn’t be delayed because the president’s demanded that China police the straits of Hormuz.
Welcome summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the repercussions for the region, the world and the global economy.
Here are the latest developments:
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A wave of drone and rocket attacks targeted the US embassy in Baghdad early on Tuesday, Iraqi security sources said. They described it as the most intense assault since the attacks began, with at least five drones used, Reuters is reporting. It quoted a witness as saying a powerful explosion was heard in the Iraqi capital.
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Air traffic operations in the United Arab Emirates have returned to normal after the temporary closure of its airspace earlier on Tuesday, the Gulf state’s aviation authority has said, quoted by the state news agency. The UAE’s ministry of defence said earlier that the country’s air defences were responding to incoming missiles and drones from Iran.
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Donald Trump said he will “soon” announce countries that have agreed to help the US reopen the strait of Hormuz, as he criticised his many allies, including Nato and the UK, that have so far declined to get involved. He told reporters in the Oval Office that South Korea, Japan, and China, should be helping the US. He warned that Nato faced a “very bad” future if it didn’t help and said he was “not happy” with the UK.
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Meanwhile, allies responded by saying “this is not Nato war”, with the EU insisting it has “no appetite” to expand its naval mission to the strait of Hormuz. German chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier said this war “is not a matter for Nato”, while Nato said “allies have already stepped up to provide additional security in the Mediterranean”. The UK prime minister Keir Starmer had earlier resisted Trump’s call to send warships to the strait, saying the UK “will not be drawn into a wider war” but was working “with allies” on a plan to reopen the strait.
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Trump also said the war would be “wrapped up” soon, saying it wouldn’t be this week but “it won’t be long”.
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US vice-president JD Vance deflected and attacked the media when he was asked if he supports Trump’s war on Iran, given his prior criticisms of open-ended US foreign interventionism. It followed US media reports that he had privately expressed scepticism and counselled Trump against striking Iran. Vance accused the media of trying to “drive a wedge” between him and his president, and repeated Trump’s claim that Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon. “I trust President Trump to get the job done,” he said.
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Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denied recent contact with US special envoy Steve Witkoff, and said their last contact was prior to the US attack on Iran. He wrote on X: “My last contact with Mr. Witkoff was prior to his employer’s decision to kill diplomacy with another illegal military attack on Iran. Any claim to the contrary appears geared solely to mislead oil traders and the public.” It followed an Axios report that a direct communications channel between Witkoff and Araghchi had been reactivated in recent days, with Araghchi attempting to engage with Witkoff about ending the war.
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The leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy issued a joint statement expressing “grave concern” after Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon. They called for meaningful engagement by Israeli and Lebanese representatives to negotiate a sustainable political solution. A significant Israeli ground offensive would have devastating humanitarian consequences, they warned, adding that it could lead to a protracted conflict with “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
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Earlier on Monday, the IDF had said its troops had begun what it described as “limited and targeted” ground operations – a ground invasion – against Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, and told hundreds of thousands of Lebanese civilians they cannot return to their homes.
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It comes as the latest reports indicate that Israeli strikes have killed at least 850 people in Lebanon, including at least 107 children, and have left more than a million displaced.
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Operations at the UAE’s Shah gas and oil field were suspended after a fire that broke out due a drone attack. Abu Dhabi authorities said on Monday night that the fire had been brought under control.
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Qatar said it intercepted a second wave of missiles from Iran following an attack earlier on Monday.
