Exclusive ‘China does not want to see war of aggression against Iran': Victor Gao warns Israel & US

Al Arabiya

9 hours ago

In a stark warning to Israel and the United States, prominent Chinese scholar and former diplomat Dr. Victor Gao called for an immediate end to what he described as a 'war of aggression' against Iran, urging all sides to de-escalate before the conflict spirals out of control.
Speaking on Al Arabiya English's GNT, presented by Tom Burges Watson, Gao – Vice President of the Center for China and Globalization – condemned Israel's military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, likening the move to a 'surprise attack' that could have global ramifications.
'China really deplores Israel's military attack on nuclear facilities inside Iran and considers it as a very serious offense against a world of peace and security,' Gao said. He dismissed Israeli claims of acting in preemptive self-defense, labeling them 'high hypocrisy' given Israel's own undeclared nuclear arsenal.
'It is of high hypocrisy for a country like Israel, which violated international convention in possessing nuclear weapons, to accuse another country of trying to possess nuclear weapons,' he stated.
Gao argued that Israel's actions not only undermined international norms but also risked triggering a regional – and potentially global – catastrophe. 'In my best judgment, it is like the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in the Second World War,' he said.
China, he emphasized, views Iran as a sovereign nation with full rights to defend its territory.
'Whatever Iran is doing is justified, because they are defending their own sovereignty and territorial integrity,' he said. 'They are fighting back against aggressors.'
Gao also addressed growing suspicions that the US is playing a covert role in the escalating conflict.
'Evidence points out to a joint operation by the United States and Israel against the country of Iran,' he warned. 'If the United States really gets bogged down in this war against Iran, no one knows what will happen… in the coming years or coming decades.'
Despite suggestions that a distracted US could benefit China geopolitically, Gao dismissed the notion.
'China always benefits by protecting peace and stability anywhere in the world,' he said. 'It is time to stop Israel in this war against Iran and to prevent the United States from really joining this war… which may escalate the situation and create… consequences for mankind as a whole.'
He also denounced recent rhetoric from US President Donald Trump, particularly a social media post implying knowledge of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's whereabouts.
'I don't think assassination of a head of state or head of government is the right thing to do in the world of today,' Gao said. 'Assassination may serve as a boomerang… and haunt you.'
Asked whether a potential regime change in Tehran would damage China's strategic interests, Gao dismissed the idea. 'We are not confused by the events on a day-to-day basis. We look at the situation in 10 years, in 100 years… Therefore, in the historical perspective… war is bad,' he said.
On growing speculation about an emerging alliance dubbed 'CRINK' (China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea), Gao was blunt.
'Whatever acronyms you come up with, it cannot change the fact that China today is the major force defending peace and stability… If anyone wants to confuse China with a force against peace, then he or she is either out of their mind or completely falsifying the situation.'
Closing with a direct rebuke of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gao warned, 'No one should allow Prime Minister Netanyahu [to try] saving his own political skin from justice at home and justice in Hague by launching this war of aggression against Iran. He will not be able to escape from the reach of law.'