European countries ‘in talks’ with Tehran for Hormuz transit

Trump says Xi agrees Iran must open Hormuz, but no sign China will weigh in

FE Team | Published: May 17, 2026 21:45:14

TEHRAN, May 17 (Agencies): Iranian state television said on Sunday that European countries were in talks with Tehran over transit for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Following the passage of ships from East Asian countries, notably China, Japan and Pakistan, we received information today indicating that Europeans have also begun negotiations with the Revolutionary Guards navy" to get permission to pass, state television reported, without specifying which countries.
Iran has largely blocked shipping through the vital strait since the outbreak of war with the United States and Israel on February 28. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 08.
Its grip over the waterway has rattled global markets and given Tehran significant leverage, while the United States has imposed its own naval blockade on Iranian ports.
In peacetime, the route accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities.
Iran has in recent days allowed passage for dozens of ships including from China "after an agreement on Iran's strait management protocols," the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, said in a statement.
Since the war broke out, Iran has repeatedly said that maritime traffic through the strait would "not return to its pre-war status" and last month said it has received the first revenue from tolls it imposed on the waterway.
On Saturday, Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security commission, said Iran "has prepared a professional mechanism to manage traffic" through the strait, adding that it will be "unveiled soon".
"In this process, only commercial vessels and parties cooperating with Iran will benefit from it," he noted, adding that "the necessary fees will be collected for specialized services".
"This route will remain closed to the operators of the so-called 'freedom project'," he said, referring to a temporary US military operation to guide stranded commercial ships through the strait.
Meanwhile, Iranian media said the United States failed to make any concrete concessions in its response to Iran's proposal for negotiations to end the war.
Fars news agency said Washington gave a five-point list which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
Mehr news agency meanwhile said: "The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations."
US President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though China gave no indication it would weigh in.
Flying back from Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Xi, Trump said he was considering whether to lift US sanctions on Chinese oil companies buying Iranian oil. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.
"I'm not asking for any favours because when you ask for favors, you have to do favors in return," Trump said when asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether Xi had made a firm commitment to put pressure on the Iranians to reopen the strait.
Xi did not comment on his discussions with Trump about Iran, although China's foreign ministry criticized the war, calling it a conflict "which should never have happened, has no reason to continue."
Iran has effectively shut the strait, which carried one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the US and Israel launched attacks on February 28.