U.S. President ​Donald Trump has said he does not expect to need China’s help to end the war in Iran and ease Tehran’s grip on the Strait of ‌Hormuz, in remarks made before he arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a summit with President Xi Jinping.

Speaking before departing from Washington, Trump played down the role China could have in resolving the conflict, in which both sides have blocked maritime traffic through a waterway that normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

“I don’t think we need any help with Iran. We’ll win it one way or the other, peacefully or otherwise,” he told reporters.

Iran has ​appeared to firm up its control over the Strait of Hormuz in recent days, cutting deals with Iraq and Pakistan to ship oil and liquefied natural gas from the region, ​according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

Iranian officials have signalled they see that control as a long-term strategic goal. An army spokesperson said ⁠supervision of the waterway could generate revenue amounting to twice Iran’s oil income, while strengthening its foreign policy leverage.

“After this war ends, there will be no place for retreat,” the spokesperson said, ​according to comments carried by ISNA news agency.

More than one month after a tenuous ceasefire took effect, U.S. and Iranian demands to end the war remain far apart.

Washington has called for Tehran ​to scrap its nuclear programme and lift its chokehold on the strait, while Iran has demanded compensation for war damage, an end to the U.S. blockade and a halt to fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel is battling Iran-backed Hezbollah. Trump has dismissed those positions as “garbage.”

The ​United States’ war in Iran has cost $29 ‌billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday, an increase of $4 billion from an estimate provided ​late last month, Reuters reported.

With just six months before ​midterm elections in which President Donald Trump’s ⁠Republicans may face an uphill battle to ​keep their House majority, Democrats are riding high ​in public opinion polls as they attempt to link the war with cost of living issues.

On April 29, the ​Pentagon said the war at that point ​had cost $25 billion.

Jules Hurst, who is performing the duties of ‌the ⁠comptroller, told lawmakers on Tuesday that the new cost included updated repair and replacement of equipment and operational costs.

“The joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking ​at that ​estimate,” Hurst ⁠said. He was speaking alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of ​Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan ​Caine.

It ⁠is unclear how the Pentagon arrived at the $29 billion figure. A source told Reuters in March that ⁠Trump’s ​administration estimated the first six ​days of the war had cost at least $11.3 billion, read the repor.

Two out of three Americans think President Donald Trump has not clearly explained why the country went ‌to war with Iran, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday that also showed his approval rating ticking up from the lowest level of his term.

The four-day poll revealed deep concerns about surging gasoline prices, and also suggested many voters are casting blame for their troubles on Trump’s Republican allies who will be defending their congressional majorities in ​the November midterm elections.

More than two months into a conflict that began February 28 with a U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, some 66% of poll ​respondents – including one in three Republicans and almost all Democrats – said Trump has not “clearly explained the goals of U.S. ⁠military involvement in Iran.”

The war, which cooled in recent weeks as both sides floated peace proposals, has driven a roughly 50% increase in gasoline ​prices across the country. Iran shut down a fifth of the global oil trade by effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz – despite efforts by U.S. warships ​to re-open the waterway for oil tankers.

Some 63% of the country say their household’s personal financial situation has taken a hit from recent gas price increases, up from 55% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted March 17-19.

Some 36% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance, up two percentage points since a late April Reuters/Ipsos poll showed ​his approval rating at 34%, which was the lowest level of Trump’s current term in office.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll had a 3-percentage-point margin of error ​in either direction based on the number of people surveyed.

Trump’s popularity remains below the 40% approval rate he had just before the war started. He started his term ‌in January ⁠2025 with 47% approval after winning the 2024 presidential election on promises to lower costs for Americans.

Three-quarters of the public – including half of Republicans – think his administration bears at least a fair amount of responsibility for the gas price surge, the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. Asked which political party is more responsible, 65% of poll respondents said Republicans were to blame compared to 27% who said Democrats.

Four out of five Americans said they ​expect gas prices to rise further.

Republicans ​are defending narrow majorities in the ⁠U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterms. Their hopes of keeping control of the House have been bolstered by recent court rulings that could lead to voting district boundaries that are more favorable to ​Republicans. Republican strategists say the party’s chances would further improve if gasoline prices came down.

But with no agreement ​in sight between ⁠Washington and Tehran, about three in 10 Americans already expect to cut back on summer vacation plans if gas prices hold firm, the poll found. Many expect to cancel their trips or travel shorter distances.

Trump has repeatedly promised gas prices will fall when the war ends, though analysts warn that is unlikely to happen ⁠quickly. The public ​isn’t sure who has the upper hand in the conflict. Only one in three say ​America has the advantage, while about one in seven say Iran has it, the Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The rest said they weren’t sure or that neither side has an advantage.

The latest ​Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and gathered responses from 1,254 U.S. adults nationwide.