Israel Launches Fresh Strikes on Tehran and Beirut – As it Happened

Some analysts believe that China will be in a stronger position to extract concessions from Donald Trump when the US president finally visits Beijing after becoming entangled in his Middle East war.

Trump had been due in the Chinese capital at the end of this month for talks with president Xi Jinping, but has delayed his trip by several weeks to deal with the fallout from the war.

His decision last month to join Israel in strikes on Iran has plunged the Middle East into violence, pushed energy prices to years-long highs and seeded fears of global supply shortages due to Iran’s effective closure of the strait of Hormuz.

With Trump struggling to define how the intervention will end and traditional allies reluctant to back him, the US leader may come to China needing a diplomatic win, analysts told Agence France-Presse.

A show of US force that was meant to intimidate Beijing has instead served to puncture the illusion of US omnipotence,” said Ali Wyne, a senior adviser focusing on US-China ties at the International Crisis Group thinktank.