BEIJING: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi held phone talks with his Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs, China state media reported on Tuesday, adding that Tehran said it was “willing to exercise restraint” following its first-ever direct strike on Israel.
Israel has vowed to reply to the unprecedented Iranian attack over the weekend, which have prompted appeals for de-escalation by several world leaders fearing wider conflict in the region. Washington has also repeatedly made public appeals for Beijing to use its influence over Iran to manage tensions in the region.
China’s FM Holds Call with Iranian Top Diplomat Amid Iran-Israel Tension
During the talks, Iranian FM Hossein Amir-Abdollahian briefed Chinese top diplomat on the April 1 strike on Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria which Iranian officials say prompted its aerial strike, Chinese media reported.
Iranian FM told Wang Yi that the UNSC “did not make a necessary reply to this strike” and that “Tehran has the right to self-defence in reply to the violation of its sovereignty”, local media reported.
AFP reported that Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran was “willing to exercise restraint” and had no intention of further intensifying tensions and termed the current regional situation as “very sensitive”.
On his part, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang said Beijing “strongly denounces and firmly opposes the strike” on the Iranian consular annex in Syria and regards it as a “serious violation of global law and unacceptable”.
As per Chinese media reports, Wang Yi says that Beijing lauds Tehran’s stress on not targeting neighbouring nations as well as its reiteration on continuously pursuing a good-unneighborly and friendly policy.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs readout said that Amir-Abdollahian briefed Wang Yi on Tehran’s “legitimate action” and also “warned the White House” that further strikes on Iran’s interests would invite a “decisive, extensive and immediate” response.
