US Treasury chief says China may press Iran over Hormuz
US Treasury Secretary Bessent said China was likely to work behind the scenes to influence Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the reopening of the key energy route would benefit Beijing.
“I think they will work behind the scenes to the extent anyone can sway Tehran,” Bessent told CNBC, adding that he believed China would “do what it can” on the strait.
Bessent also said Iran’s main loading facility had seen no loadings for the past three days and that Washington believed its storage was full.
“We believe we’re at the point where Iran is not paying soldiers or replenishing weapons stocks from abroad,” he said.
On oil, Bessent said he expected the curve to move lower in six months and believed prices would come down quickly.
Iran’s foreign minister accused the United Arab Emirates on Thursday of direct involvement in military operations against Iran, escalating Tehran’s criticism of regional states during a BRICS meeting in New Delhi.
Abbas Araghchi made the remarks in response to comments by the Emirati representative and added that he had avoided naming the UAE in his main speech “for the sake of unity.”
“But the truth is that the UAE was directly involved in the aggression against my country,” Araghchi said. “When the attacks started, they didn't even issue a condemnation.”
He accused Abu Dhabi of providing bases, airspace, territory, intelligence and other facilities to the United States and Israel during the attacks.
Araghchi said Iran had not attacked the UAE, but had targeted US military bases and facilities on Emirati soil.
He urged the UAE to reconsider its policy toward Iran, saying neither the US military presence nor ties with Israel had protected it.
His remarks came against the backdrop of the war involving Iran, the United States and Israel, during which Tehran said it targeted US military positions in response to attacks on Iran.
They also followed reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had visited Abu Dhabi during the war and that Israel had provided the UAE with military equipment. The UAE rejected reports of the visit.
Araghchi cited the reports in his remarks, saying the UAE had become “an active partner in this aggression.”
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he had made a secret visit to the United Arab Emirates during the US-Israeli war with Iran earlier this year and met UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.
Iran sought to rally BRICS countries against US and Israeli military action on Thursday, casting the regional conflict as resistance to American power as concerns over maritime security and energy disruption dominated the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the bloc to oppose what he called the politicization of international institutions and take action against countries violating the UN Charter.
“The West's false sense of superiority and immunity must be shattered by all of us,” Araghchi said in a statement during the gathering.
His remarks come as Iran faces deepening economic strain, a collapsing currency and growing public frustration at home, weakening the image of resilience officials have sought to project.
High inflation and repeated protests over living costs have laid bare Iran’s domestic vulnerabilities, even as Tehran seeks to project itself as a challenger to Western influence.
The two-day meeting opened under the shadow of the Iran-US-Israel war, exposing divisions within an expanded BRICS bloc split by competing regional interests and differing ties with Washington.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 targeting military bases, missile infrastructure, nuclear facilities and senior commanders in an effort to weaken Tehran’s military capabilities and nuclear program.
Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel, US military assets and infrastructure linked to American allies in the Persian Gulf region.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar warned that instability around key shipping lanes threatened the global economy.
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar shakes hands with Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India May 14, 2026.
“Safe and unimpeded maritime flows through international waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, remain vital for global economic well-being,” Jaishankar said in opening remarks.
Iran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz following joint US and Israeli strikes on its territory, issuing warnings to commercial vessels and tankers in the strategic waterway.
Traffic through the strait, which carries roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas trade, declined sharply as tanker operators suspended transit and vessels rerouted over security concerns.
The disruptions drew criticism from Western governments, Persian Gulf Arab states and shipping groups, which warned that threats to one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints could destabilize global trade and energy markets.
BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2011. The bloc later expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the UAE.
Araghchi used his address to accuse Washington and Israel of carrying out attacks against Iran and urged BRICS countries to take a firmer position on the conflict.
“Iran is asking BRICS members and all responsible members of the international community to explicitly condemn violations of international law by the United States and Israel,” he said.
Araghchi also portrayed BRICS as part of an emerging global order less dominated by Western powers and said developing countries faced similar political and economic pressure from Washington.
India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar addresses the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, India May 14, 2026.
His comments did not address Iran’s own military and proxy activities across the region, including attacks by Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon against neighboring countries and US-linked targets in recent years.
Tehran also launched missile and drone attacks on Arab states aligned with Washington during the conflict, targeting military facilities and energy infrastructure in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The regional governments condemned the strikes as violations of sovereignty that threatened regional stability and energy supplies.
Differences inside BRICS have complicated efforts to reach a unified position on the conflict, particularly between Iran and the UAE, which support opposing sides in the war.
Despite the divisions, diplomats said discussions were continuing toward a possible joint statement before the meeting concludes on Friday.
Security forces in Najafabad, a major city in Isfahan province in central Iran, implemented deliberate power outages on January 8 and 9 to facilitate a lethal crackdown on protesters.
According to accounts received by Iran International, the use of gunfire under the cover of darkness resulted in dozens of fatalities during these two nights.
These events were part of the January Massacre, a nationwide suppression of anti-establishment protests that led to thousands of deaths across Iran.
Amirhossein Zeinali, a 26-year-old conscripted soldier, was one of the first victims identified from the evening of January 8.
Zeinali had only recently begun his mandatory military service when he was shot by security forces in front of Police Station 12.
According to local witnesses, he was not participating in the demonstrations but was targeted by direct gunfire while he was attempting to help a woman who had been wounded by earlier shots.
Amirhossein Khodadadi, 27, was also killed during the darkness of the January 8 crackdown.
Khodadadi was a cafe staff who, along with his fiancée, had been working long hours to save money for their dream of opening an independent business.
Following his death, government authorities withheld his body for a full week, only releasing it to his family after significant pressure.
Omid Ghasemi Nafchi, 37, died after being struck by a military-grade bullet to the heart during the protests in Najafabad.
A father of two children, aged five and ten, his body was eventually transported to the city of Shahrekord for interment following the fatal shooting.
Mahmoud Maleki, a 38-year-old truck driver, was killed by a direct shot to his side.
His grave in Najafabad bears the inscription "Bahar's Dear Father" (Baba Jan-e Bahar). This refers to his young daughter, who, according to family sources, fulfilled her goal of reading aloud to him by reciting at his graveside after his death.
Vahid Shahrashoub was killed the following morning, January 9, in the vicinity of the Najafabad cemetery.
Shahrashoub, a local vendor, witnessed security forces using municipal waste management trucks to transport the remains of those killed during the previous night's operations, according to sources familiar with the matter.
After he vocally protested the use of these vehicles, security agents shot him in the head and placed his body into the same waste truck.
The operational approach in Najafabad – coordinating utility blackouts with armed intervention and using non-standard vehicles for transporting remains – mirrors reporting from other protest hubs during the January Massacre.
These methods were utilized by security forces to obscure the scale of the casualties and minimize the documentation of violence during the peak of the demonstrations.
