RIYADH — Iran’s relations with Gulf states will require a “serious review” in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, limiting the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous, Tehran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday.

Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: “It’s a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we cannot do without each other; we will need a serious review.”

“What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] and an excessive reliance on external powers,” he said in a written response to questions, calling for deeper ties between the Gulf Cooperation Council’s six members, along with Iraq and Iran.

Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the outbreak of the war on February 28, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels, and residential and office buildings.

The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Iran’s arch-foe Israel in 2020, has faced the brunt of the attacks. But all Gulf Arab states have been impacted, and all have condemned Iran.

Behind the scenes, analysts and regional sources say there is also growing frustration at the US, long their security guarantor, at dragging them into a war they did not endorse but for which they are paying a hefty price.

In Saudi Arabia, attacks have been concentrated on the eastern region where most of the kingdom’s oil is produced, as well as the Prince Sultan Airbase hosting US forces east of Riyadh, and the Diplomatic Quarter on the Saudi capital’s western edge, according to Saudi defense ministry statements.

Saudi Arabia and Iran re-established full diplomatic relations in 2023 after years of enmity that saw them back rival political and military factions across the region.

IRAN ‘NOT RESPONSIBLE’ FOR ATTACKS ON SAUDI OIL SECTOR
Mr. Enayati denied that Iran was responsible for the attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast and dozens of attempted drone attacks on the Shaybah oil field in the desert near the UAE border.

“Iran is not the party responsible for these attacks, and if Iran had carried them out, it would have announced it,” he said. He did not say who had carried out the attacks.

Saudi Defense Ministry statements have not assigned blame for individual incidents. Mr. Enayati said Iran was only attacking US and Israeli targets and interests.

Mr. Enayati said he personally was in ongoing contact with Saudi officials, with relations “progressing naturally” in many areas. He highlighted Saudi cooperation regarding the departure of Iranians who were in the kingdom for religious pilgrimage and the provision of medical assistance to others.

He said Tehran was in contact with Riyadh regarding Saudi Arabia’s publicly stated position that its land, sea and air would not be used to attack Iran, without elaborating on the discussions.

His message to Gulf states was that the war “has been imposed on us and the region.”

To resolve the conflict, the US and Israel must halt their attacks and regional countries should not be involved, while international guarantees must be secured to prevent their recurrence, he said.

“Only then can we focus on building a prosperous region,” he said. — Reuters

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump warned NATO of a “very bad” future if allies do not help open up the Strait of Hormuz and said he may also delay a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, in comments published by the Financial Times on Sunday.

“I think China should help too because China gets 90% of its oil from the Straits,” Mr. Trump told the newspaper, adding he would prefer to know Beijing’s position before the planned visit.

“We may delay,” he said of the trip.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng wrapped up the first of two days of talks in Paris on Sunday to iron out kinks in their trade truce and clear a path for Trump’s trip to Beijing to meet with Xi at the end of March.

The US president said countries that benefit from the shipping route should help secure it.

“It’s only appropriate that people who are the beneficiaries of the Strait will help to make sure that nothing bad happens there,” he told the FT.

Mr. Trump on Saturday called on nations to send warships to keep the narrow waterway open for shipping as Iranian forces continue attacks following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying he hoped countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea, Britain would send ships to the area.

When asked to specify the assistance he wanted, Mr. Trump told the FT that it could include minesweepers and other military assets to counter drones and naval mines.

“We’re hitting them very hard,” Mr. Trump said of Iranian forces, according to the FT. “They’ve got nothing left but to make a little trouble in the Strait … these people are beneficiaries and they ought to help us police it.”

Iran effectively shut the strait after the United States and Israel launched attacks against it more than two weeks ago. About a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage of water between Iran and Oman.

Mr. Trump also warned Washington could launch further strikes on Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, saying US forces could target its oil infrastructure if needed.

“We can hit that in five minutes,” he said. “And there’s not a thing they can do about it.”

Mr. Trump also criticized Britain’s response after speaking with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“The UK might be considered the number one ally… and when I asked for them to come, they didn’t want to come,” Mr. Trump told the Financial Times, adding that Britain only offered to send ships after the US had already reduced Iran’s military capabilities.

The White House and the Chinese foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. — Reuters

PARIS — Top US and Chinese economic officials were due to conclude talks in Paris on Monday, with potential areas of agreement in agriculture, critical minerals and managed trade that could be taken up by US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, sources familiar with the discussions said.

The sources told Reuters that the “remarkably stable” talks led by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng would set in motion possible “deliverables” for Mr. Trump’s expected trip to China at the end of March to meet with Mr. Xi.

But they added that the leaders would have the final say on the proposals.

Mr. Trump, however, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that he could also delay his summit with Mr. Xi later this month as he presses Beijing to help unblock the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed by Iran.

“We may delay,” he said of the trip.

The US and Chinese delegations met for more than six hours on Sunday at the Paris headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a club of mostly wealthy democracies that does not count China as a member.

During those discussions, the Chinese side showed openness to potential additional purchases of US agricultural goods including poultry, beef, and non-soybean row crops, one of the sources said, adding that China was still committed to buying 25 million metric tons of American soybeans for each of the next three years under the Trump-Xi October 2025 trade truce.

Spokespersons for the US Treasury and the US Trade Representative’s office declined to characterize the discussions, while Chinese officials left the talks on Sunday without speaking to reporters.

“Meaningful” progress in Sino‑US economic cooperation could restore confidence to an increasingly fragile global economy, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency said in a commentary on Sunday.

The Paris talks follow several meetings to ease tensions last year between Mr. Bessent, Mr. He, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese chief trade negotiator Li Chenggang.

MANAGED TRADE MECHANISM
The two sides discussed the establishment of new formal mechanisms to help manage trade and investment between the world’s two largest economies that may be considered by Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi in Beijing, the sources said. Technical talks on the proposed US-China “Board of Trade” and “Board of Investment” were expected on Monday.

One of the sources said that the Board of Trade was the more developed of the two proposals, and would be aimed at finding products and sectors where the US and China could grow trade in a balanced way without compromising each other’s national security or critical supply chains.

The Board of Investment would not set broad investment policies but would address “discrete investment issues” that may arise between the countries, the source said.

CRITICAL MINERALS, ENERGY
The sources also said US officials discussed the flow of Chinese-produced critical minerals to US companies and raised concerns about the US aerospace industry’s lack of access to yttrium from China, which is used in jet engine turbines, among other applications.

One of the sources said the two sides “found some ways to loosen up” more challenging areas in critical minerals, but did not provide specifics.

Before the talks, Mr. Greer had told CNBC on Friday that the US wanted “to make sure that we continue to get the rare earths we need for our manufacturing base, that they keep buying the kinds of things they should be buying from us, and that the leaders have a chance to get together and make sure that the relationship is going the way we want it to go.”

Mr. Greer and Mr. Bessent also emphasized in the talks the US desire for China to increase purchases of Boeing jetliners and US coal, oil, and natural gas, which could be further discussed on Monday, the sources said.

But with little time to prepare and Washington’s attention focused on the US-Israeli war on Iran, prospects for such major trade breakthroughs were limited, in Paris or at the Beijing summit, trade analysts said.

“Given that the leaders may meet up to four times this year, these deliverables maybe can be spread out, rolled out over the year,” said Wendy Cutler, a former US trade negotiator who now heads the Asia Society’s Washington policy center.

These meetings include a potential visit to Washington for Mr. Xi, a China-hosted APEC summit in November and a US-hosted G20 summit in December. — Reuters