Trump says he and China's Xi agree Iran cannot have nuclear weapons

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A Greek-operated tanker sailed from the Gulf to India on Friday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz in one of the few crude sailings through the waterway this week, ship tracking data showed on Friday.

The Liberia-flagged suezmax tanker Karolos, which can carry a maximum of 1 million barrels of oil, was sailing towards the western India port of Sikka on Friday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz on May 14, according to analysis from Kpler. The vessel was at maximum load after calling at Basra oil terminal on May 10, Kpler analysis showed.

Satellite analysis from data analytics specialists SynMax also found the vessel's draft had increased on May 14, indicating it had taken on cargo.

Karolos' Greek-based manager Dynacom, which has been one of the salient Greek players to ship oil through the strait after the war began on February 28, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Separately, a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker managed by Japanese refining group Eneos passed through the strait, ship-tracking data from LSEG showed on Thursday.

The United Arab Emirates rejected "attempts to justify Iranian terrorist attacks" on Friday after Tehran accused the wealthy Gulf state of playing an active role in the Middle East war.

Minister of State Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar "affirmed the UAE's categorical rejection of Iranian claims and attempts to justify Iranian terrorist attacks targeting the UAE" and other nations, a foreign ministry statement said.

The UAE has been "subjected to repeated and unjustified Iranian terrorist attacks", including about 3,000 attacks by ballistic and cruise missiles and drones, its statement said.

"The UAE reserves all its sovereign, legal, diplomatic, and military rights to confront any threat, claim, or hostile act," Marar was quoted as saying.

"The UAE does not seek protection from anyone and is capable of deterring aggression," he added.

"It reserves its full and legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity to ensure the protection of its citizens, residents, and visitors."

The statement followed Thursday's BRICS meeting in New Delhi, during which Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a Telegram post: "The UAE is an active partner in this aggression, and there is no doubt about it."

In a statement carried by the Iranian state news agency IRNA, Araghchi said he "advised the representative of the UAE that the Zionist regime (Israel) and the United States cannot guarantee their security" and that Abu Dhabi had "seen the consequences of the presence of American bases" on its soil.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon said on Friday that talks between Lebanon and Israel offer a "critical opportunity" to end the Israel-Hezbollah war.

"Diplomatic efforts now offer a critical opportunity to stop the violence," Imran Riza said in a statement, adding that he hoped "ongoing negotiations will pave the way toward a political solution".

"Airstrikes and demolitions continue daily, with an unacceptable toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure," he added.

Israeli attacks have killed at least 2,951 people since the start of the war on March 2, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Israel's extremist national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Friday called on the government to permit the establishment of settlements in areas of Lebanon occupied by the Israeli military.

"We want settlement in Lebanon and we should not be afraid of pressure," the Jewish Power leader was quoted as saying at a Religious Zionism event by Israeli media.

He also reiterated demands for Palestinians to be expelled from Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded two others earlier today, according to the country's state-run news agency.

The National News Agency reported drone strikes in Nabatieh and the nearby town of Kfar Roummane on Friday morning as the Israeli military continued attacks in the south in violation of the 16 April ceasefire.

The UAE is will accelerate the construction of a new oil pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, official media said on Friday, after the Middle East war crippled exports through the strategic waterway.

The West-East Pipeline will double state oil giant ADNOC's capacity through Fujairah port and is expected to become operational next year, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan "directed ADNOC to accelerate delivery of the project", the report said.

The UAE, which made the shock decision to quit oil cartel OPEC earlier this month, plans to increase production capacity to five million barrels a day by next year.

Iran struck oil facilities in Fujairah multiple times during the war. Three Indian nationals were wounded in the latest attack on 4 May.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday he had a good phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump after his China trip and that both agreed Iran must return to the negotiating table, open the Strait of Hormuz and must not be allowed to have nuclear weapons.

The Israeli military issued more evacuation orders for several villages in southern Lebanon on Friday, following six warnings earlier in the day.

The military ordered residents of Ain Baal, Khrayeb, Zrariyeh, Arab Salim and Arab al-Jal to leave these areas ahead of strikes.

The naval forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards are allowing more ships to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television said Friday, after Tehran blocked the waterway following US-Israeli strikes.

"More vessels can now pass through the Strait of Hormuz with the coordination of the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," or IRGC, a state TV reporter said from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

"This indicates that many countries have accepted the new legal protocols that Iran and the IRGC naval forces have established in this region and in the Strait of Hormuz."

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday he had "received messages" from the United States saying it is willing to continue talks, and that he was open to any support, including from China.

"We received messages again from the Americans saying that they are willing to continue the talks and continue the interaction," Araghchi told reporters in the Indian capital.

"We appreciate any country who has the ability to help, particularly China," Araghchi said, speaking after he attended a meeting of the BRICS bloc of nations in New Delhi.

"We have very good relations with China, we are strategic partners to each other, and we know that (the) Chinese have a good intention, so anything that can be done by them to help diplomacy would be welcomed by the Islamic republic," he added.

"The mediation process by Pakistan has not failed yet, but it is in a very difficult course, mostly because of the Americans' behaviour and the mistrust which exists between us," Araghchi said.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping "feels strongly" that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon.

"He (Xi) feels strongly that they can't have a nuclear weapon and he wants them to open up the strait," Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that has been choked by the war.

A support vessel owned by Malaysian firm Vantris Energy, formerly known as Sapura Energy, passed through the Strait of Hormuz, LSEG shipping data showed on Friday, becoming the fourth ship linked to the country to transit the waterway since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war.

The Sapura 1200 was among seven ships that the Malaysian government had sought permission from Iran to clear the strait, which has been mostly closed off since the conflict broke out in late February disrupting global energy supplies, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The ship made its way through the strait, hewing close to the Iranian coastline, before heading for Oman, entering the Muscat port, LSEG data showed.

Israel's military said Friday it was striking Hezbollah targets in the Tyre area of south Lebanon, as the two countries entered the second day of US-brokered talks in Washington.

"The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the area of Tyre in southern Lebanon," the army said in a statement, hours after issuing evacuation warnings for five towns and villages. An AFP correspondent saw strikes in the area.

In a separate statement, the military said "a number of explosive drones" had fallen in several areas of northern Israel, with no injuries reported. The exchanges of fire come despite a truce with Lebanon intended to halt the fighting.

مراسل #الجديد: غارة على منطقة المساكن الشعبية - صور pic.twitter.com/q9SosuYWlw

— Al Jadeed News (@ALJADEEDNEWS) May 15, 2026

Tehran has "no trust" in the U.S. and is interested in negotiating with Washington only if it is serious, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday.

Iran is trying to keep the ceasefire to give diplomacy a chance, he told reporters in New Delhi during a visit to attend the BRICS foreign ministers' meeting.

BRICS ministers call for an immediate, permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the organisation's chair said in a statement.

The Palestinian Authority said Friday that a 16-year-old was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army said he had been throwing stones at Israeli cars on a road.

The authority's health ministry said it had been informed of the killing of Fahd Zidan Oweis. He was "shot dead by the (Israeli) forces at dawn today in the town of Al-Lubban al-Sharqiyya in the Nablus governorate. His body has been withheld," it said.

The Israeli army told AFP it "eliminated a masked terrorist" who had "hurled rocks towards Israeli vehicles on a central road, endangering lives".

مصادر محلية: استشهاد الفتى فهد زيدان عويس 16 عاماً برصاص جيش الاحتلال، في بلدة اللبن الشرقية جنوب نابلس. pic.twitter.com/Ck9bzavNJY

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) May 14, 2026

Two drones targeted the headquarters of the Iranian Kurdish opposition group north of Iraq's Erbil on Friday, security sources told Reuters.

Economic growth in Germany, which was just 0.3% in the first quarter, will likely take a significant hit from the effects of the Iran war in the second quarter, the federal economy ministry warned on Friday.

"Rising prices, supply chain issues and uncertainty are weighing on sentiment among businesses and households," the ministry said in its monthly report.

China wants to see the Strait of Hormuz reopen without curbs or tolls, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Bloomberg News in a live interview on Friday, adding that the U.S. was confident Beijing would act to limit material support for Iran.

Citing remarks by Chinese officials at the Beijing summit of the U.S. and Chinese leaders, he said, "It's really important for China to have the Strait of Hormuz open, no tolling, no military control, and that was clear from the meeting.

US President Donald Trump suggested that hunting down Iran's enriched uranium was primarily for political optics, after Israel demanded it as a goal.

"I just feel better if I got it, actually, but it's - I think, it's more for public relations than it is for anything else," Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview from China broadcast late Thursday in the United States.

"The other thing we could do is bomb it again," Trump said. "But I, just, I would feel better getting it and we will get it."

Israel's military said Friday that one of its soldiers died in combat in southern Lebanon, bringing its losses to 20 personnel since the war with Hezbollah resumed in early March.

Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20, "fell during combat in southern Lebanon", the military said, without providing additional information.

Since the war began, 19 Israeli soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed.