As the Middle East conflict enters its third week, U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran continue to intensify. Global oil prices are swinging sharply, repeatedly testing new highs, while the crisis is placing serious strain on U.S.-China relations and transatlantic alliance trust. On March 16, President Donald Trump confirmed that he had requested the postponement of a planned summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, originally scheduled for late March in Beijing.
Trump's explanation, delivered from the Oval Office, was blunt: "I'd love to, but because of the war, I want to be here. I have to be here." The Beijing summit — scheduled for March 31 to April 2 — has been called off, a development that suggests the Iran conflict is not unfolding as smoothly as Trump has claimed.
Trump's Loyalty Test: Snubbing Xi, Shaming Allies into Line
Speaking to the Financial Times on Sunday, Trump had already made a public ultimatum: if Beijing did not dispatch warships to the Persian Gulf to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz — effectively blockaded by Iran — he might cancel his first visit to China since 2017.
The strait, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies pass, has become a chokepoint for the world economy. Beijing, however, appeared unmoved by Trump's pressure. The Wall Street Journal highlighted a stark reality: while Iran has blockaded the strait, it continues to sell oil to China and allows Chinese vessels to transit the Persian Gulf safely. With its own ships unaffected, Beijing has little strategic incentive to join U.S.-led escort operations.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted to walk back Trump's remarks during a CNBC interview on March 16, stressing that the postponement was unrelated to the warship demand, and was purely because "the President wants to stay in Washington to coordinate the war effort — traveling abroad at a time like this may not be ideal."
The Financial Times added that the postponement was decided following two days of trade talks in Paris, where Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), who leads Beijing's negotiations with Washington. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Trump's frustration extends beyond Beijing's refusal to cooperate. Allied nations have also largely declined his calls for naval assistance — some leaving his calls on read, others refusing outright.
Over the past two days, Trump repeatedly urged countries to deploy warships for escort duty, but found few takers. Earlier on March 16, Trump turned his criticism toward U.S. allies, accusing them of long depending on American military power while now declining to reciprocate.
In the interview, Trump complained that countries the U.S. has helped for many years weren't that enthusiastic. He expressed frustration in pointed terms: "You mean, for 40 years, we're protecting you, and you don't want to get involved in something that is very minor?" Trump specifically called out Europe and Japan, noting that those countries are far more dependent on Persian Gulf oil than the United States is.
Trump then added: "We don't need anybody; we are the strongest nation in the world." He framed his call for allied assistance in reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a deliberate "loyalty test" — one he said he issued not because the U.S. genuinely needed help, but because he wanted to "find out how they react."
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Trump also claimed earlier that numerous countries told me they're on the way to assist in reopening the strait, though he provided no specifics on which nations he was referring to.
Allies Push Back: "This Is Not Our War"
The results of Trump's loyalty test have, by most assessments, been diplomatically damaging. The New York Times noted that international response to Trump's call for an anti-Iran coalition has been strikingly cold, with Germany offering the most direct refusal.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius was unequivocal: "This is not our war; we have not started it." Berlin's position was categorical — it would not deploy warships at Washington's request.
The European Union struck a similarly firm tone. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stated clearly that the bloc would not expand its naval operations in the region to protect Hormuz traffic, emphasizing that "this is not Europe's war."While the United Kingdom and EU indicated they were discussing options for reopening the strait, no substantive military commitment has materialized.
Responses from France, South Korea, and the United Kingdom have been ambiguous. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer drew a clear line, stating that UK "will not be drawn into the wider war." Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom have also jointly called for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict and expressed grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Lebanon and the large-scale displacement of civilians.
The New York Times noted that Trump called on other nations to join U.S. escort operations in a social media post last week — his first public expression of interest in building a broad anti-Iran coalition or joint Hormuz escort mission. The appeal, however, appeared to lack any prior diplomatic groundwork, particularly given that the White House did not consult allies before the U.S. and Israel decided to go to war with Iran.
Surging Oil Prices and Signs of U.S. Unpreparedness
On the battlefield itself, the conflict — now in its third week — appears to be developing in ways that Washington did not fully anticipate.
Trump maintained a defiant posture in his interviews, dismissing Iran as a "paper tiger" and claiming they don't have many missiles left. Yet he simultaneously acknowledged surprise at the scale of Iranian retaliation following U.S. strikes.
With U.S. midterm elections approaching, the Financial Times noted that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has had a measurable impact on crude prices, driving up gasoline costs for American consumers. Trump characterized the market turbulence as "a very small price to pay" to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
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When asked how long the war would last, Trump insisted: "When it's wrapped up, it'll be wrapped up soon. We're gonna have a much safer world."
The conflict, initiated jointly by the United States and Israel, has so far resulted in more than 2,000 deaths, concentrated primarily in Iran and Lebanon, with the broader Middle East increasingly drawn in. Iran has launched rockets and drones at neighboring countries and has targeted vessels in the Persian Gulf.
According to U.S. Central Command, American forces have struck more than 7,000 Iranian targets since hostilities began and have damaged or destroyed more than 100 vessels. The New York Times, however, reported that the U.S. appears to have been caught off guard by the scale of Iran's retaliation and by the operational demands of protecting commercial ships and supertankers from attack. Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command overseeing the Middle East theater, has provided no specific plan for how the United States intends to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Widening Conflict: Power Cuts in Tehran, Ground Operations in Lebanon
There are no signs of de-escalation across the region, with the conflict expanding on multiple fronts simultaneously.
According to Iranian state media and Iran's Red Crescent Society, U.S.-Israeli airstrikes hit a power distribution center supplying a large portion of eastern Tehran, causing outages lasting several hours before electricity was restored. On the question of civilian casualties, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations reported to the UN Security Council last Wednesday that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed inside Iran since the conflict began.
The situation in Lebanon is increasingly alarming. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that Israeli forces have launched a "ground maneuver" in southern Lebanon, stating that the military is prepared for a prolonged campaign. The announcement has heightened fears of a broader Israeli ground invasion. Lebanese official figures indicate 886 people have been killed and more than one million displaced.
Gulf Arab states have also been drawn into the conflict. Saudi Arabia's military reported intercepting nearly one hundred drones within the past twenty-four hours. The United Arab Emirates issued a statement saying it had been targeted in a new wave of Iranian missile and drone attacks. On the U.S.-Israeli side, Israeli authorities reported at least 12 killed; the Pentagon confirmed that 13 American service members have died since hostilities began.
You've read it. Now let's talk. Follow us on X. Editor: Yuping Chang
