Beijing Urges for De-escalating Israel-Iran War amid Concerns over Strait of Hormuz
Beijing has urged the international community to intensify efforts and take actions to de-escalate the tensions between Israel and Iran warning that the conflict could badly affect the global economy, according to Saudi Gazette.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun warned that the continuity of the war may have bad economic impacts as Tehran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz. Closure of Strait of Hormuz
On Sunday, the Iranian Parliament approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the US attacks that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
The measure was submitted to Iran's Supreme National Security Council to make the final decision, Iran's Press TV said on Sunday.
'The parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing the closure of the Strait,' state news agencies reported.
Revolutionary Guards Commander Esmail Kosari told the Young Journalist Club that closing the Strait of Hormuz, a significant maritime corridor for global oil shipments, is on the agenda and 'will be done whenever necessary.'
Importantly, analysts stated that the blockade of the strait which handles nearly 20% of global oil and gas flows, could dramatically push up oil and natural gas prices, risking a global energy and trade crisis. Call for Chinese Intervention
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has recently urged China to make use of its diplomatic leverage to persuade Iran to keep the strait open.
'I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil,' Rubio had said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday. US Attacks on Iran
The move to close the strait comes less than 24 hours after the US airstrikes targeted Iran's nuclear facilities in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan.
'The United States showed that they have no respect to United Nations Charter. They have no respect to international law. They crossed a very big red line by attacking nuclear facilities,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said. Israel-Iran War
On June 13, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Iran under the name of Operation Rising Lion. The military campaign targeted Iran's nuclear facilities and killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists.
As a response, Iran launched a retaliatory wave of missiles against Israel and targeted Tel Aviv. Israel also killed several Iranian nuclear scientists in line with its goal to eliminate Iran's nuclear program.
Related Topics:
Iranian Parliament Approves Closure of Strait of Hormuz after US Strikes
Amid Growing Tensions, Iran Seizes Israeli-linked Ship near Strait of Hormuz
IMF Warns US Strikes on Iran Could Damage Global Growth
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Arab News
31 minutes ago
- Arab News
Beijing, a longtime friend of Tehran, turns to cautious diplomacy in Iran's war with Israel
BEIJING: When Israel attacked Iran nearly two weeks ago, the Chinese government, a longtime friend of Iran, jumped into action — at least, when it came to words. It condemned the attacks. Its leader, Xi Jinping, got on the phone with the Russian leader and urged a ceasefire. Its foreign minister spoke with his counterpart in Iran. But that's where China stopped. The usual rhetoric was delivered. De-escalation and dialogue were trumpeted. Yet China offered no material support. Despite Beijing's clout as a near-peer rival to the United States and its ambition to play a bigger role on the world stage, Beijing refrained from offering military support to Iran, let alone getting directly involved in the conflict. The decision underscored the limitations it faces in the Middle East. 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After the Iranian parliament floated a plan to shut down the strategically located Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, China spoke against it. 'China calls on the international community to step up efforts to de-escalate conflicts and prevent regional turmoil from having a greater impact on global economic development,' said Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry. On Tuesday, following the ceasefire announcement, US President Donald Trump wrote in a social media post: 'China can now continue to purchase Oil from Iran,' suggesting the ceasefire would prevent the disruption of Iranian oil production. A 2024 report by the US Energy Information Administration contained estimates suggesting that roughly 80 percent to 90 percent of the oil exported by Iran went to China. The Chinese economy could struggle to preserve its industrial production without the roughly 1.2 million barrels of oil and other fossil fuels provided by Iran. 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Wang later spoke with foreign ministers of Oman and Egypt; both nations are key mediators in the region. And late last week, before the US got involved militarily, Xi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin; the two agreed to stay in closer contact over Iran and work toward de-escalation. But China stayed away from any direct involvement, and Russia also had muted responses to the Israel-Iran conflict. Iran is an important link in Xi's ambitious global project Belt and Road Initiative, and in 2023 joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a security group by Russia and China to counter the US-led NATO. It has conducted joint exercises with China, including this year's 'Maritime Security Belt 2025' in the Gulf of Oman, in which Russia also took part. On Wednesday, Beijing will convene a meeting of defense ministers of SCO member nations. 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Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
Israel killed at least 14 scientists in an unprecedented attack on Iran's nuclear know-how
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Nine of them were killed in Israel's opening wave of attacks on June 13, the Israeli military said. It said they 'possessed decades of accumulated experience in the development of nuclear weapons' and included specialists in chemistry, materials and explosives as well as physicists. Zarka spoke Monday to the AP. On Tuesday, Iran state TV reported the death of another Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohammad Reza Sedighi Saber, in an Israeli strike, after he'd survived an earlier attack that killed his 17-year-old son on June 13. Targeted killings meant to discourage would-be successors Experts say that decades of Iranian work on nuclear energy — and, Western powers allege, nuclear weapons — has given the country reserves of know-how and scientists who could continue any work toward building warheads to fit on Iran's ballistic missiles. 'Blueprints will be around and, you know, the next generation of Ph.D. students will be able to figure it out,' said Mark Fitzpatrick, who specialized in nuclear non-proliferation as a former US diplomat. Bombing nuclear facilities 'or killing the people will set it back some period of time. Doing both will set it back further, but it will be reconstituted.' 'They have substitutes in maybe the next league down, and they're not as highly qualified, but they will get the job done eventually,' said Fitzpatrick, now an analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a London think tank. How quickly nuclear work could resume will in part depend on whether Israeli and US strikes destroyed Iran's stock of enriched uranium and equipment needed to make it sufficiently potent for possible weapons use. 'The key element is the material. So once you have the material, then the rest is reasonably well-known,' said Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based analyst who specializes in Russia's nuclear arsenal. He said killing scientists may have been intended 'to scare people so they don't go work on these programs.' 'Then the questions are, 'Where do you stop?' I mean you start killing, like, students who study physics?' he asked. 'This is a very slippery slope.' The Israeli ambassador said: 'I do think that people that will be asked to be part of a future nuclear weapon program in Iran will think twice about it.' Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons, which it has never acknowledged. Previous attacks on scientists Israel has long been suspected of killing Iranian nuclear scientists but previously didn't claim responsibility as it did this time. In 2020, Iran blamed Israel for killing its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, with a remote-controlled machine gun. 'It delayed the program but they still have a program. So it doesn't work,' said Paris-based analyst Lova Rinel, with the Foundation for Strategic Research think tank. 'It's more symbolic than strategic.' Without saying that Israel killed Fakhrizadeh, the Israeli ambassador said 'Iran would have had a bomb a long time ago' were it not for repeated setbacks to its nuclear program — some of which Iran attributed to Israeli sabotage. 'They have not reached the bomb yet,' Zarka said. 'Every one of these accidents has postponed a little bit the program.' A legally grey area International humanitarian law bans the intentional killing of civilians and non-combatants. But legal scholars say those restrictions might not apply to nuclear scientists if they were part of the Iranian armed forces or directly participating in hostilities. 'My own take: These scientists were working for a rogue regime that has consistently called for the elimination of Israel, helping it to develop weapons that will allow that threat to take place. As such, they are legitimate targets,' said Steven R. David, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University. He said Nazi German and Japanese leaders who fought Allied nations during World War II 'would not have hesitated to kill the scientists working on the Manhattan Project' that fathered the world's first atomic weapons. Laurie Blank, a specialist in humanitarian law at Emory Law School, said it's too early to say whether Israel's decapitation campaign was legal. 'As external observers, we don't have all the relevant facts about the nature of the scientists' role and activities or the intelligence that Israel has,' she said by email to AP. 'As a result, it is not possible to make any definitive conclusions.' Zarka, the ambassador, distinguished between civilian nuclear research and the scientists targeted by Israel. 'It's one thing to learn physics and to know exactly how a nucleus of an atom works and what is uranium,' he said. But turning uranium into warheads that fit onto missiles is 'not that simple,' he said. 'These people had the know-how of doing it, and were developing the know-how of doing it further. And this is why they were eliminated.'
