An analysis says President Donald Trump wants to reach an agreement to end the war with Iran before his planned May 14-15 visit to China. If no deal is reached even after the trip, Trump could again turn to military action, the reports said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing Daniel Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, that the longer the war drags on, the more China’s leverage grows in other U.S.-China negotiations.
“Trump has a strong incentive to wrap up the war before next week’s China visit,” Shapiro said. If the war continues, he said, Trump would arrive in China “in the position of a supplicant,” asking Xi Jinping to help pressure Iran to accept Trump’s terms. Shapiro added that the ongoing Middle East war weakens U.S. deterrence against China in the Indo-Pacific and helps Xi’s effort to portray the United States as unstable while casting China as a responsible, mature power.
Shapiro said that if the war ends, Trump can focus on the economic deals he cares about most. He added that Iran understands that dynamic, giving Tehran some negotiating leverage to extract a certain level of agreement.
CNN also reported, citing sources, that if Trump visits China without concluding talks to end the war with Iran, it would hand Beijing an advantage. A Chinese source told CNN that Trump wants to visit China after resolving the Iran issue to project strength.
In an interview Tuesday with PBS, Trump said a deal with Iran could be reached before his China trip. Asked whether it would be finished before he leaves next week, he replied, “It’s possible.”
But Trump suggested he could resume military action if no agreement is reached. “We’re going to have to bomb them again like crazy,” he said. Axios also reported Tuesday, citing U.S. officials, that Trump could consider renewed military action if negotiations with Iran do not produce an agreement by the end of his China visit.
The report said that if talks still fail after Trump’s China trip, his incentive to negotiate could weaken, potentially leading him to intensify pressure on Iran in a way aimed at China.
The Chinese source told CNN that if Trump attacks Iran after the China visit, it could make it appear China abandoned Iran. The source added that Trump is “very smart” and, rather than striking China directly, first brought down Venezuela and is now targeting Iran — moves the source described as effectively clipping China’s wings in those regions.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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