Arabic version: ترامب يتوجه إلى بكين لإجراء محادثات حول تصاعد الصراع الإيراني

U.S. President Donald Trump departed for Beijing on Tuesday for a high-stakes summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasizing that discussions will include Iran, despite trade being the primary focus. This meeting occurs as tensions related to the ongoing war with Iran intensify, with Tehran accusing Washington and Israel of fabricating “justifications for atrocity.” Trump has maintained that the conflict will conclude “peacefully or otherwise.” According to Al Jazeera, Iran’s chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that the U.S. must accept Tehran’s latest peace proposal to avoid failure.

In Kuwait, authorities have arrested four alleged members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for attempting to infiltrate the country, a claim Iran has rejected. Meanwhile, Qatar has accused Iran of “weaponising” the Strait of Hormuz and using it to “blackmail” Gulf states, which have been significantly affected by the ongoing conflict.

As part of the international response, Australia announced it will join a “strictly defensive” mission led by France and the United Kingdom to secure shipping routes in the Gulf. This comes as Iranian officials assert that they are not using the Strait of Hormuz as a weapon, despite tightening their control over the area.

The conflict has had severe economic implications, with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reporting costs of at least $29 billion to the U.S. from the war over 74 days. Trump has suggested that the war’s conclusion could lead to a decrease in inflation and rising oil prices, as hundreds of oil tankers remain stranded in the region.