US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate, after he announced a two-week halt in the bombing of Iran in return for its reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

“I hear yes. Yes they were,” Trump told AFP when asked if Beijing was involved in getting its key ally Tehran to negotiate shortly before the deadline he had set for bombing key infrastructure in Iran.

Citing three Iranian officials, The New York Times also said Iran accepted the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire following a last-minute intervention by China, which asked Iran “to show flexibility and defuse tensions” amid concern of economic fallout.

The officials claimed the truce was approved by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly wounded at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, and has yet to be seen in public since being appointed to replace his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strike.

Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and the main buyer of Iranian oil, most of which passes through the Strait of Hormuz. But it also has strong........

© The Times of Israel