US-Iran war highlights: As the peace talks between the United States and Iran remain in limbo, former US President Barack Obama has defended the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. Speaking to CBS, Obama stated that the US managed to get 97 per cent of Iran’s enriched uranium out, without triggering a regional dispute and killing thousands.
“We pulled it off without firing a missile,” Obama said. “We got 97 per cent of their enriched uranium out. There’s no dispute that it worked. And we didn’t have to kill a whole bunch of people or shut down the Strait of Hormuz,” he added further.
Chinese vessels allowed to pass Hormuz
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday said around 30 vessels had transited through the Strait of Hormuz since Wednesday evening with Tehran’s permission, Reuters news agency reported citing state media.
Iran has also begun allowing some Chinese vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz after an understanding was reached over Iranian management protocols for the waterway, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Thursday citing an informed source.
This comes even as the White House stated that both US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had agreed on the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and on Iran never having a nuclear weapon.
Trump visits China
Trump is in China and is meeting his Chinese counterpart President Xi Jinping. One of Trump’s key goals is to get China to join a nuclear arms agreement, and the Beijing trip could present an opportunity to negotiate on arms reduction.
In recent years, China has intensified efforts to expand its nuclear program – including flattening villages to construct buildings supporting nuclear weapons production facilities, a recent CNN investigation found. Traveling with Trump are top officials and more than a dozen business leaders, including Tim Cook and Elon Musk.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that he made a “covert” visit to the United Arab Emirates and met with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. However, the UAE has denied that the Israeli Prime Minister visited, or that it hosted a delegation from the Israeli military.
