Trump says he believes China got Iran to come to the negotiation table

 WASHINGTON: U.S. ‌President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday that he believes China got ​Iran to negotiate a ceasefire ​in the war against Israel and ⁠the United States.

The Chinese ​foreign ministry said on Wednesday ​that it welcomed the ceasefire, adding that China had made its own ​efforts towards realising lasting ​peace in the Middle East.

"China has ‌consistently ⁠advocated for an immediate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities, as well as the resolution ​of disputes ​through ⁠political and diplomatic channels," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning ​said.

She did not detail ​what ⁠China's efforts were when asked at a regular news ⁠briefing.

Iran will reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a ceasefire agreement with the United States brokered by Pakistan, as the two sides also agreed to start negotiations in Islamabad on Friday for a peace deal.

In a telephone call with AFP, Trump said he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate, and said Tehran's enriched uranium would be "perfectly taken care of."

 The US leader appeared bullish on the truce with Iran, despite Tehran also casting it as a win for its side, and amid questions over exactly what both sides had agreed on.

The two sides agreed on the ceasefire barely an hour before Trump's deadline to obliterate the Islamic republic was set to expire.

"Total and complete victory. 100 percent. No question about it," Trump told AFP in the brief call when asked if he was claiming victory with the ceasefire.

With uncertainty over arrangements for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic in particular, Trump insisted there was a strong framework for a longer-term deal.

"We have a 15 point transaction, of which most of those things have been agreed on. We'll see what happens. We'll see if it gets there," Trump said.

The Republican president had said in his earlier announcement on his Truth Social network that Iran had given a 10-point proposal which was "workable."

Trump would not say whether he would go back to his original threats to lay waste to Iran's civilian power plants and bridges if the deal fell apart.

"You're going to have to see," Trump told AFP.

Uranium 'taken care of'

The fate of Iran's store of enriched uranium is another key question, after a war that the US president said was partially aimed at ensuring Iran could never get a nuclear weapon.

But Trump insisted that the nuclear material would be covered by any peace deal.

"That will be perfectly taken care of, or I wouldn't have settled," Trump said, without giving any specifics about what would happen to the uranium.

The ceasefire deal came after more than a month of destructive attacks by the United States and Israel, and followed mediation by Pakistan.

Trump said that he believed China had played a role in getting Iran to the negotiating table.

"I hear yes," Trump said when asked if Beijing was involved in getting key ally Tehran to negotiate on a truce.

The US president is due to travel to Beijing in mid-May to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in a crucial summit between the two superpowers.

The trip was originally scheduled for early April but Trump postponed it, saying he had to stay in Washington to oversee the Iran war.

Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and the main buyer of Iranian oil, most of which passes through the strait.

But it also has strong economic ties to the Gulf countries and has repeatedly criticized attacks on them by Iran.