As two more ships are attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and the ceasefire in Lebanon nears its end, all eyes are on the high-stakes US-China summit in Beijing.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping say they agree that Iran must not have nuclear weapons and that the Strait must be reopened - but what does that mean in practice?

Ahmed Aboudouh, Associate Fellow for Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, joins Roland Oliphant and Sophia Yan and explains how Beijing’s complex relationship with Tehran and the Gulf monarchies will inform its approach to the war.

Highlights

• What Beijing really wants from the Iran crisis
• The balancing act between Tehran and the Gulf states

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent, @sophia_yan

Ahmed Aboudouh, Chatham House @AAboudouh

CONTENT REFERENCED:

China ‘secretly planning to ship arms to Iran’

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/us/news/2026/05/13/china-weapons-deal-iran/

China will benefit from the Iran war, regardless of any deal between Trump and Tehran

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/05/china-will-benefit-iran-war-regardless-any-deal-between-trump-and-tehran

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Weeks of American and Israeli airstrikes inflicted grievous losses on Iran’s military. Or so we thought.

Now, US intelligence assessments suggest that Iran retains 70 percent of the missiles and launch vehicles it had before the war - including most of the sites threatening the Strait of Hormuz.

Holly Dagres joins Roland Oliphant and Sophia Yan to unpack the implications. She also explains why Iran’s hardliners are unlikely to listen to China’s leader Xi Jinping, have stepped up execution of opponents and alleged spies at home, and are nose-diving the economy with a crippling internet black out. This is the latest from Donald Trump’s war against Iran – which will overshadow his summit later this week with Xi.

Highlights

• Iran retains 70 percent of its missile arsenal
• Why Tehran's hardliners will resist pressure from China

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Sophia Yan, senior foreign correspondent, @sophia_yan

Holly Dagres, Washington Institute, @hdagres

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US-Iran ceasefire is on ‘life support,’ says Donald Trump. Iran may enrich Uranium to weapons grade if the war resumes, says its government.

All this sets the stage for Donald Trump’s trip to Beijing this week, where he will ask Xi Jinping for help bringing the war to a satisfactory end.

Might the two most powerful men on the planet might find a way to re-open the Strait of Hormuz and end the war? But does China have the leverage to force Iran to act, and would Xi Jinping be willing to use it to help out Donald Trump?

Highlights

• Can China stop the Iran conflict from spiralling further?
• What will a successful US-China Summit look like for Trump?

CONTRIBUTORS:

Roland Oliphant, co-host and chief foreign affairs analyst @RolandOliphant

Allegra Mendelson, Asia Correspondent

Dr Alessandro Arduino, RUSI Associate Fellow, International Security

CONTENT REFERENCED:

Antonia Langford, Putin expands world’s largest drone factory

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/11/putin-expands-worlds-largest-drone-factory/

Benedict Smith, Trump: ceasefire with Iran is on life support

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/11/iran-us-war-latest-tehran-executes-alleged-cia-mossad-spy/

Robert White, UAE ‘carried out secret attacks on Iran’

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/05/12/uae-secret-attacks-on-iran/

Producer: Peter Shevlin

Executive Producers: Venetia Rainey & Louisa Wells

► Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor

► EMAIL US: Contact the team on battlelines@telegraph.co.uk

► GET THE LATEST HEADLINES: Find all our latest Iran coverage here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/iran-war/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.