US blockade of Iran ports irresponsible and dangerous, China says

China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, says the US naval blockade undermines an “already fragile ceasefire”. China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, says the US naval blockade undermines an “already fragile ceasefire”.

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China, the biggest buyer of Iranian oil, says the US naval blockade undermines an “already fragile ceasefire”.

China has called the US naval blockade of Iranian ports “irresponsible and dangerous”.

Beijing’s foreign ministry said the move would “undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement” and further jeopardise the safety of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway Iran effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes.

The blockade came into force on Monday, a day after peace talks between the US and Iran broke down in Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump said the measure is intended to force Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions. Analysts say the move is also designed to pressure China - the biggest buyer of Iranian oil - to encourage Tehran to open the strait.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN has described the US blockade as a “grave violation” of Tehran’s sovereignty.

Up until now, Chinese vessels have been among the few managing to make their way through the strait. It is not clear whether they had to pay a toll to Iran in order to do so.

The US blockade could potentially cut off China’s supply and have far-reaching consequences for its economy.

“China believes that only by achieving a comprehensive ceasefire and ending the war can we fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation in the strait,” China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

“China urges all parties to abide by the ceasefire arrangements, focus on the general direction of dialogue and peace talks, take practical actions to promote the easing of the regional situation, and restore normal traffic in the strait as soon as possible.”

Guo also told a news conference on Tuesday that reports China was preparing to deliver new air defence systems to Iran were “completely fabricated”.

Trump has threatened to impose a 50% tariff on China’s goods if military assistance was provided to Tehran.

“If the US insists on using this as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on China, China will definitely take resolute countermeasures,” Guo said.

It comes after US Vice-President JD Vance accused Iran of “economic terrorism” over its own blockade of the Strait of Hormuz - having attacked, and threatened to attack, vessels passing through since last month.

“Well, as the president of the United States showed, two can play at that game,” he told Fox News.

“If the Iranians are going to try to engage in economic terrorism, we’re going to abide by the simple principle that no Iranian ships are getting out, either.”

The US has said its military would not impede s

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The US military says that a blockade of Iranian ports will begin at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT) on Monday

US Central Command says it “will not impede” ships in the Strait of Hormuz heading “to and from non-Iranian ports”

It follows a Truth Social post from US President Donald Trump saying the US Navy will “blockade any and all ships” trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz - a critical waterway for global oil shipping

Trump adds that talks with Iran in Pakistan failed because Tehran won’t “give up its nuclear ambitions”. Iran says the two sides were “inches away” from a deal, but Tehran was then met with “maximalism” and “shifting goalposts”

Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led negotiations in Pakistan, says the country “will not submit to any threat” in a statement carried by local media

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Naval Forces says any military vessels that approach the Strait of Hormuz will be considered to be violating the ceasefire and “dealt with severely”

Tom BatemanUS State Department correspondent

The US has made clear since the start of the war that Iran should never have the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, something Tehran has said it never planned to do.

Donald Trump said last June that Iran’s nuclear capabilities were already “obliterated” by his bombing raids on nuclear sites at Isfahan, Fordow and Natantz. After a further five weeks of war, today Iran maintains its stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium which is thought to be contained in gas cylinders under rubble.

In the third week of the war, Rafael Grossi, the head of the global nuclear watchdog the IAEA, told me there could ultimately be no military solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Trump has said the US will now work “with Iran” to “dig up and remove all of the deeply buried… Nuclear Dust”. But Tehran remains defiant on this issue and it will be a decisive one in the looming negotiations between the US and Iran in Islamabad.

Arguably Tehran could now - with an even more suspicious leadership in place - become more, not less, determined to seek a nuclear capability to deter another US attack.

The Strait of Hormuz has become a focal point in the US-Israel war with Iran after Tehran effectively choked off the vital oil shipping route.

Roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through