Iran allowing transit of Chinese vessels in Strait of Hormuz, Fars news reports

In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, vessels are pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP)
In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency on May 4, 2026, vessels are pictured anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. (Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP)

Iran has begun allowing some Chinese vessels to transit through the Strait of Hormuz following an understanding over Iranian management protocols for the waterway, the semi-official Fars news agency says, citing an informed source.

US President Donald Trump is currently in Beijing meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The White House said earlier that the pair discussed current Middle East tensions and agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must be opened.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is in China’s best interests and he believes Beijing will do what it can to reopen the waterway.

“I think they’re going to do what they can,” Bessent says in an interview with CNBC from Beijing. “China, it’s very much in their interest to get the Strait reopened, and I think they will be working behind the scenes to the extent anyone has any say over the Iranian leadership.”

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