Iran war day 77 brought three major developments unfolding simultaneously across three continents a Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, Iran’s foreign minister at the BRICS table in New Delhi, and a seized ship heading toward Iranian waters near the Strait of Hormuz. The world’s most important oil chokepoint sits at the centre of all of it.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the Strait of Hormuz during talks in Beijing, with the White House saying Xi agreed the strategic waterway “must remain open to support the free flow of energy” as tensions over the Iran war continue to roil global markets.

Strait of Hormuz News Today: What Is Happening Right Now

A ship was taken by unknown parties off the coast of the United Arab Emirates near the Strait of Hormuz and was headed toward Iranian waters, according to a UK maritime agency, after an Indian-flagged vessel was attacked off Oman. South Korea dispatched a technical team to Dubai to investigate an attack on a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz. The Namu, run by HMM Co., was struck by an unidentified missile on May 4 that exploded and left a seven-metre-deep gash in the ship’s stern. Iranian media reported that more than 30 ships, including some linked to Chinese companies, were allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz overnight as Tehran signalled the waterway was “open to all commercial ships” that cooperate with Iranian naval forces. Iran’s message is deliberate: the waterway is available, but only on Tehran’s terms.

Latest News on Strait of Hormuz: Trump-Xi Agreement

Trump said in a Fox News interview that Xi told him China would not provide military equipment to Iran, which the US president called a “big statement.” Trump said Xi Jinping had offered China’s help to open the Strait of Hormuz and pledged not to send military equipment to aid Iran in its war against the US and Israel. Whether those pledges hold is another matter. Analyst Drew Thompson said Washington and Beijing remain deeply distrustful after years of unmet expectations, with both sides accusing the other of breaking promises. Trump noted that both countries want the Strait of Hormuz a key chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s oil usually travels to be reopened, and both want to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Strait of Hormuz News Today Live: Iran’s Position

Iran’s foreign minister did not sit quietly while Trump and Xi negotiated in Beijing. Abbas Araghchi, speaking at the BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi, said: “The Strait of Hormuz is now suffering first and most from the US aggression and the blockade that they have imposed on it. As far as we are concerned, the Strait of Hormuz is open for all commercial vessels. But they need to cooperate with our navy forces.” An IRIB correspondent said: “With this, we can say that a new era has begun in the Strait of Hormuz, because now many sailors and countries of the world know that the best, fastest, and easiest way to pass through this very important and strategic waterway is only through coordination with the IRGC Navy.” Tehran is not closing the strait. It is imposing a toll  coordination with Iranian forces  that no Western navy or government is willing to formally accept.

Iran Rallies BRICS Against US and Israel

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged fellow BRICS nations at a meeting in New Delhi to condemn the US-Israel war on Iran as a violation of international law, insisting Tehran would “never bow to any pressure.” Araghchi told the BRICS+ bloc that Iran was a “victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering” and called on member states to oppose “Western hegemony” by condemning the actions of the US and Israel. Araghchi also accused the United Arab Emirates of playing an active role in the war against Iran, saying the UAE was “directly involved in the aggression against my country.” The UAE accusation is pointed. Iran is telling BRICS members many of whom have deep trade ties with Gulf states  that the conflict has more participants than the official US-Israel framing suggests.

Background: How the Iran War Reached Day 77

The US-Israel military campaign against Iran began in late February 2026. The initial strikes targeted Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. Iran responded by tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply normally flows. The closure sent oil prices surging and triggered an international scramble for diplomatic off-ramps.

Trump said Monday that the monthlong ceasefire between the US and Iran is on “massive life support” following Iran’s latest counterproposal to end hostilities. Iran’s counterproposal to the United States’ plan to end the conflict included recognition of its sovereignty over the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and a demand for compensation for war damages. The proposal also called for the release of frozen Iranian assets and the lifting of sanctions. The US rejected it.

Trump dismissed the Iranian counterproposal, calling it “totally unacceptable.”

Official Quotes

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated: “We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat. Rather, the goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength.” Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, warned: “Mr. Trump, never imagine that by taking advantage of Iran’s current calm, you will be able to enter Beijing triumphantly. We defeated you on the battlefield; never think that you will emerge victorious in diplomacy as well.”

Global Impact: Oil, War, and What Comes Next

Brent crude prices rose 3.17% to $104.50 a barrel and US crude climbed 3.21% to about $98.48 a barrel after Trump dismissed Iran’s latest terms, with markets reacting to renewed fears of prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Some Trump administration officials, including in the Pentagon, have argued for a more aggressive approach to pressuring Iran  including targeted strikes that further weaken Tehran’s position. Others are still pushing to give diplomacy a fair shot. A third round of direct talks between Lebanese and Israeli negotiators is under way in Washington, DC, running parallel to the Iran negotiations. Regional stability and the Hormuz question are connected: any widening of conflict on the Lebanon front reduces the political space for an Iran deal.

What Happens Next

The next 48 to 72 hours will clarify whether the Trump-Xi commitments in Beijing translate into anything tangible. China’s influence over Iran  as Tehran’s largest oil customer  gives Beijing real leverage. Whether Xi exercises it, or whether the pledge joins a long list of undelivered US-China agreements, is the defining question of this phase of the war.

Iran’s BRICS diplomacy is a parallel track. If Tehran can consolidate non-Western support for its framing of the conflict illegal aggression, not a counter-proliferation operation  it gains political insulation that makes a negotiated settlement harder for Washington to force. The Strait of Hormuz news today live reflects exactly that tension: ships moving, but on contested terms, with no agreed framework in sight.