Sanctioned Chinese tanker U-turns after passing through Hormuz

A sanctioned Chinese tanker was turned back in the Strait of Hormuz by the US navy after Xi Jinping appeared to test Donald Trump’s blockade.

The Rich Starry, carrying 250,000 barrels of methanol to the Omani port of Sohar, changed course abruptly after reaching the Gulf of Oman, which dozens of US warships are patrolling. It changed its destination to “for orders”.

It was on course to be the first vessel to head through the critical oil passage since the US president instituted the blockade on Monday and declared that he would “eliminate” any Iranian ships that attempted to breach it.

On Tuesday, Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said Chinese tankers would not be allowed passage through the strait, meaning “they’re not going to be able to get their oil”.

Beijing criticised the blockade earlier in the day, calling it “dangerous and irresponsible”.

The Rich Starry loaded its cargo in the United Arab Emirates and was not expected to be covered by the blockade, which was meant to only apply to ships using Iranian ports.

The vessel and its Chinese owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co Ltd, were sanctioned by the US in 2023 for dealing with Iran.

Mr Trump’s move signals that he is taking an uncompromising stance on the blockade and is willing to stare down Mr Xi, the Chinese leader, before his planned visit to Beijing in a month.

“Turning back the Rich Starry would be the most significant blockade action since [John F] Kennedy stared down Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon official.

Mr Trump had “reversed the power dynamics Xi established during the disastrous Anchorage summit” in 2021 when top US officials were upbraided by the Chinese, he added.

On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry said the move would “only exacerbate tensions and undermine the already fragile ceasefire” between the US and Iran, adding: “This is dangerous and irresponsible behaviour.”

Saudi Arabia is also pressing the US to draw back , fearing that Iran could retaliate by blockading the Red Sea and paralyse its economy.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is urging Mr Trump to lift his naval quarantine of Iranian ports in the Gulf and return to negotiations, Gulf diplomats have said.

The Saudi lobbying reflects concerns in Riyadh that Tehran would retaliate against the US blockade by instructing its Houthi allies in Yemen to seal the Bab al-Mandeb Strait , a Red Sea chokepoint through which much of the kingdom’s oil supplies pass.

US central command said the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas”.

In the first 24 hours of the blockade, being enforced by more than 10,000 American troops in addition to 15 warships and dozens of aircraft, no ships had managed to pass through, it said, adding: “Six merchant vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman.”

On Tuesday, Mr Bessent criticised China for its conduct during the US and Israel’s war with Iran, which has sent oil prices surging by 50 per cent.

He accused Beijing of being an “unreliable global partner” by stockpiling oil instead of helping ease the global shortage caused by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is responsible for 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas flows.

China is preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran within weeks, US intelligence indicates, according to CNN. The technology would help Tehran weather strikes from the US and Israel if fighting resumes.

Peace talks between the US and Iran look likely to resume this week after they broke down on Sunday, when Mr Trump claimed the regime had refused to compromise on its nuclear ambitions.

Mr Trump said Iran talks could resume in Pakistan, which has established itself as a key mediator, by Thursday. He told The New York Post that “something could be happening over the two days, and we’re more inclined to go there”.

António Guterres, the head of the United Nations, said it was “highly probable” that negotiations would restart before the ceasefire ended Tuesday, following talks with Pakistan’s deputy prime minister.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, said on Tuesday that “Iranian negotiators wanted to make a deal” and the “ceasefire is holding”.

He added that “we are negotiating with Iran”, although he added there was “a lot of mistrust between the US and Iran, can’t be solved overnight”. But he made clear we “feel good where we are”.

On Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron said he had urged the US and Iran to return to the negotiating table in calls with Mr Trump and Masoud Pezeshkian, the Iranian president. The French president said it was “essential” that both sides avoid escalating the conflict.

He also called on Israel to halt its bombing of Lebanon as part of the ceasefire, and for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened “unconditionally, without restrictions or tolls”.

Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Macron will host an online meeting on Friday of dozens of countries to how to police the strait once the war is over.

British officials fear that excluding the US from the operation will anger Mr Trump, while French diplomats believe that including the Americans will isolate Tehran, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The plan will reportedly have three phases: releasing the dozens of ships trapped in the strait, demining the passage, and forming military escorts so it can be safely navigated

The White House claimed Iran was desperate to end the war and that its economy was “crumbling” in the face of the US’s blockade.

“The Iranians’ desperation for a deal is only increasing with President Trump’s highly effective naval blockade in effect,” Olivia Wales, a White House spokesman, told The Telegraph.

“The president is rightfully securing the Strait of Hormuz to ensure freedom of for all ships travelling to non-Iranian ports, ending the Iranian extortion of the world, and applying necessary pressure on Iran’s crumbling economy.”

Mr Trump is reportedly planning to allow a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Iranian oil at sea to expire this week, which would pile further pressure on the regime.

The waiver, which helped relieve pressure on global energy supply during the war, allowed some 140 million barrels of oil to reach the global market. It was issued by the US treasury on March 20, and is set to end on Sunday.

Israel’s spy chief declared that the country’s battle against the Iranian regime would not end until it had fallen.

“Our mission is yet to be completed,” said David Barnea, the Mossad director, who also rebuked world powers for failing to act while “the Iranian threat ... steadily intensified before our eyes”.

Israeli and Lebanese officials met in Washington on Tuesday for US-mediated talks to end the conflict in Lebanon, marking their first direct negotiations in more than 30 years.

Although Israel is under growing international pressure to agree to a ceasefire, a breakthrough looks unlikely because it has refused to do so until Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy group, had disarmed.