By Nandita Bose and Jana Choukeir
WASHINGTON/DUBAI, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has said he does not expect to need China's help to end the war in Iran and ease Tehran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz, in remarks made before he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a summit with President Xi Jinping.
The war is expected to feature in talks between Trump and Xi over the next two days, but Trump downplayed Beijing's potential role in ending the conflict, which has choked off traffic through a key waterway that typically carries about one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
"I don't think we need any help with Iran. We'll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise," he told reporters in Washington before departing for China.
Iran has appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.
Iranian officials have signalled they see that control as a long-term strategic goal. An army spokesperson said supervision of the waterway could generate revenue amounting to twice Iran's oil income, while strengthening its foreign policy leverage.
"After this war ends, there will be no place for retreat," the spokesperson said, according to comments carried by ISNA news agency.
More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, U.S. and Iranian demands to end the war remain far apart.
Washington has called for Tehran to scrap its nuclear programme and lift its hold on the strait, while Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the U.S. blockade and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed those positions as "garbage."
CHINESE SUPERTANKER CROSSES STRAIT
The Trump administration said on Tuesday that senior U.S. and Chinese officials had agreed last month that no country should be able to charge tolls on traffic through the region, in an effort to project consensus on the issue ahead of the summit.
China, a major buyer of Iranian oil that maintains close ties with Tehran, did not dispute that account.
On Wednesday, a Chinese supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, marking the third known passage by a Chinese oil tanker through the channel since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Other countries are exploring shipping arrangements similar to Tehran's deals with Iraq and Pakistan, sources said, potentially entrenching Tehran's control of the waterway through which fertilisers, petrochemicals and other bulk commodities vital to global supply chains normally flow.
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PRICE OF WAR
As the costs of the conflict mount, Trump said Americans' financial struggles were not a factor in his decision-making on the war.
Data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer inflation accelerated in April, with the annual rate posting its largest gain in three years as food, rent and airfares rose.
Asked to what extent the economic strain on Americans was motivating him to strike a deal, Trump replied: "Not even a little bit."
"I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation ...," Trump said before leaving for China. "I think about one thing: We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
The remarks are likely to draw scrutiny as cost-of-living concerns remain a top issue for voters ahead of November's midterm elections.
WAR HITS OIL SUPPLIES
The conflict is weighing heavily on global energy markets. Global oil supply will fall by around 3.9 million barrels per day across 2026 and undershoot demand due to disruptions caused by the Iran war, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, with more than 1 billion barrels of Middle East supply already lost.
Brent crude futures were steady at around $108 per barrel, after a three-day rally driven by the Hormuz deadlock.
Surveys show the war is unpopular with U.S. voters less than six months before nationwide elections. Two out of three Americans, including one in three Republicans and almost all Democrats, think Trump has not clearly explained why the country has gone to war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
ISRAEL CONTINUES TO STRIKE LEBANON
Iran has demanded security guarantees for Lebanon as part of its proposal to end the wider war, but despite a U.S.-mediated ceasefire announced last month, Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, Israeli airstrikes on cars in Lebanon killed 12 people, including two children, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
Some of the strikes targeted vehicles well beyond the main theatre of conflict in the south, on the coastal highway south of Beirut, security sources said.
(Reporting by Reuters Newsrooms; Writing by Ros Russell; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Keith Weir)
