Retaliation is about to begin, and a big war is imminent, and the United States has made several phone calls asking many countries to put pressure on Iran. Will China agree? Wang Yi gave an answer. What does it mean for the United States to ask many countries to put pressure on Iran? Will China agree to it?
On April 11, local time, the U.S. State Department issued a statement saying that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken with foreign ministers of several countries, hoping that countries would "urge Iran not to escalate the situation." These include China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and many of their European allies. During the call, Blinken stressed that it is not in anyone's interest that once the conflict between Iran and Israel escalates, it will lead to serious consequences.
The reason why Blinken spoke with many foreign ministers on the phone with great fanfare is related to the recent tensions between Iran and Israel. On April 1, local time, Israeli missiles flew directly to Syria, blowing up the consular building of the Iranian Embassy in Syria and killing more than a dozen people. Among them, in addition to Syrian civilians, the victims included seven Iranian military personnel.
In this regard, Iran immediately expressed strong condemnation and strongly stated that it would carry out retaliatory actions. On April 2, local time, Iranian President Raisi issued a statement condemning Israel's attack and calling it a "terrorist crime". He warned the Israeli government that such crimes "will not go unanswered."
Although Iran's retaliation did not start immediately, it turned into a sword hanging over Israel's head, and no one knows when Iran's bomb will fall. It is widely speculated that Iran's retaliatory actions may include, but are not limited to, air strikes on Israeli embassies and consulates abroad, attacks on Israeli facilities and targets outside the country, and the use of "proxy wars" against Israel.
On the 11th, news came from the United States that Iran might launch a large-scale missile or drone attack on Israel, and this situation was "imminent". If Iran does do do it, it may lead to a further expansion of the risk of conflict in Gaza. This is one of the main reasons why Blinken has made multiple phone calls asking many countries to put pressure on Iran.
Although the United States seems to want to cool down the situation between Iraq and Israel, it is actually pulling the strings. Because in addition to calling foreign ministers, he also spoke on the phone with Israeli Defense Minister Gallant. In the phone, he reiterated to Gallant the U.S. unwavering support for Israel's "response to the threat." It can be seen that the United States does not really want to de-escalate the situation, but wants to pressure other countries to force Iran to make concessions.
Will China agree to Blinken's request? Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi responded by phone. At the Foreign Ministry's regular press conference on April 12, spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Blinken at the request. She revealed that Foreign Minister Wang Yi strongly condemned the attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria and made it clear that the security of diplomatic institutions cannot be violated. Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said that the sovereignty of both Iran and Syria should be respected.
In a simple sentence, China's position is clear. Israel's bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria is not only an infringement on Iran's sovereignty, but also a violation of Syria's sovereignty. Israel's wanton firing of missiles at other countries is clearly inconsistent with international law. Whatever justifications and excuses the Israeli side may have, they should not act recklessly outside the framework of international law.
In addition, Mao Ning also hit the nail on the head and said that the surge in Iraq-Israel confrontation and the escalation of the situation are manifestations of the spillover of the Gaza conflict, and the most important thing at present is to calm the Gaza conflict as soon as possible. In other words, only by cooling the situation as soon as possible can we prevent the risk of conflict from spilling over at the root and prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. Mao Ning said that China calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately cease fire and stop fighting to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
Mao Ning's remarks made an important point clear, that is, only by ceasefire and peace talks can we further avoid the harm caused by war to innocent people. She stressed that China will continue to play a constructive role in resolving the Middle East issue. Finally, Mao Ning also said meaningfully that the United States "should play a constructive role in particular."