Trump says he believes Iran was persuaded to negotiate ceasefire by China

Trump says he believes Iran was persuaded to negotiate ceasefire by ChinaDonald Trump believes Beijing was involved in convincing Tehran to negotiate before the two countries announced a two-week ceasefireCommentsNewsZahra Khaliq News Reporter09:04, 08 Apr 2026Updated 09:04, 08 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesTrump issued a chilling threat to Iran just hours before the ceasefire Donald Trump believes Iran was persuaded to negotiate by China after a two-week ceasefire was agreed which will see the Strait of Hormuz re-opened and attacks halted.‌The ceasefire announcement came after the president issued a series of horror threats as the 8pm ET (1am BST) deadline he set Iran to re-open Hormuz, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, edged closer. "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again," he wrote in a post on Truth Social. "I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."‌Iran reportedly accepted the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire after a Chinese last-minute intervention driven by concerns over the economic fallout if Trump followed through with his threats.‌Asked by AFP if Beijing was involved in convincing Tehran to negotiate, Trump said: "I hear yes. Yes they were." Citing three Iranian officials, The New York Times also said Iran accepted the Pakistani-mediated ceasefire following a last-minute intervention by China, which asked Iran “to show flexibility and defuse tensions” amid concern of economic fallout.View 2 ImagesThe ceasefire comes after Trump threatened to wipe out Iran's civilisation(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)‌Three officials said the ceasefire agreement was approved by Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been publicly seen since being appointed to replace his father Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial US-Israeli strikes on February 28. The new leader is believed to have been wounded in the attack.Beijing is a close partner of Iran and the main buyer of Iran...