On April 15, 2024, at the request of Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a telephone conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Minister Fersa. The content of the call is available on the official website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, and the Chinese side also expressed its position in the phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abdollahian.
First, China respects and understands Iran's feelings.
Second, China also supports Iran in safeguarding its rights and interests within the framework of the UN Charter.
Third, China still hopes that Iran will exercise restraint and maintain stability in the region, which is in the interests of both Iran's national and the Middle East.
To sum up, China's overall remarks during the phone call with the Iranian foreign minister are, in short, to promote peace talks.
In a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal, China also said that China hopes that Saudi Arabia, a major country in the Middle East, can play a greater role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, especially the dispute between Israel and Iran. After all, Saudi Arabia has deep ties with the United States, and under the mediation of China, it has just eased relations with Iran, and Saudi Arabia can speak on both sides, and Saudi Arabia itself is a Middle Eastern country, so it may play a greater role.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia and Iran both expressed higher expectations for China during their phone calls with China, hoping that China can play a greater role in the Middle East issue, after all, China is the only trustworthy mediator in the Middle East.
After Iran's large-scale retaliation against Israel, Israel did not show weakness in saying that it would prepare various retaliatory tools to launch countermeasures against Iran, and Iran made clear its attitude that Iran is waiting for Israel's retaliation. After strong remarks from both sides, Iran's foreign minister spoke with his Chinese counterpart on a multifaceted basis.
First, Iran must be prepared for the worst in the face of Israel's threats of retaliation, although Israel has exercised restraint and Iran has remained calm under the persuasion of China, the United States and other countries, but after all, Israel is the side that has been beaten, and it is difficult to calm Israel's mind. After all, Israel is accustomed to being a "little bully", and now it is too difficult for Netanyahu to suddenly stop and deal with the contradictions with Iran in a humble and gentlemanly manner. Therefore, when Israel said that it was ready to retaliate against Iran, Iran must not take it lightly, and Iran also gave a corresponding strong response, but from the heart of Iran, it does not want to make this matter too big. This Iranian attack on Israel is more of a double-edge, as long as Israel can give a face and a step, this matter can be regarded as a turning page. If it can use powerful external forces such as China and the United States to persuade Israel to restrain its hands and hold back its breath, Iran will achieve its strategic goals, which is why Iran wants to talk to China, and this is also to prevent Israeli dogs from jumping over the wall.
Second, Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia took the initiative to ask for a phone call with China, and the Israeli ambassador to China held a discussion with the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, clearly expressing Israel's attitude and hoping that China will play a greater role. In fact, this further reflects that China has an unprecedented and pivotal position in the Middle East, and between Iran and Israel, the United States and Russia are both biased, and the United States will inevitably favor Israel, while Russia will inevitably stand on Iran's side. After all, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova made it very clear that when Ukraine attacked Russia proper, Israel did not condemn Ukraine and did not stand on Russia's side, and it is simply impossible to get Russia to condemn Iran now.
In this case, the United States and Russia have a clear bias, and in this case, the only country that can make these two powers have scruples, and can also keep Israel and Iran calm a little. China has always advocated that peace is precious, after all, using war to solve difficult or thorny problems facing both sides is only the worst trick, and it is not a last resort, so we should never choose this option, but sit down and solve the problem through negotiations, even if it is difficult, it can minimize the negative impact. China's relations with Israel and Iran, and China's role as a builder in the Middle East, make it imperative for Iran to listen to China in the event of such a serious crisis with Israel. China has also made it clear that it is committed to promoting peace talks, and that both sides should exercise restraint and not allow the situation to develop out of control, because this is not an acceptable outcome for Israel, Iran, or even the Middle East. It can also be seen from the phone calls between China and Iran and Saudi Arabia that even if China is not a direct stakeholder, it plays a role that no one can ignore.
Third, China is now talking to Iran and Saudi Arabia on the phone to persuade Iran to maintain rationality and restraint, and the main responsibility of the United States at present is to calm Israel down and refrain from large-scale retaliation against Iran, because this kind of revenge is not in line with the national interests of the United States at all, nor is it in line with the hegemony of the United States in the Middle East. The Israeli bombing sparked a massive Iranian retaliation against Israel, and Iran offered to end the game, and then China and the United States worked together to reassure Iran and Israel. From this point of view, with regard to the dispute between Iran and Israel, in fact, China and the United States have reached a consensus that the matter must not be allowed to make too much trouble, whether it is the United States out of selfishness or China is in the public interest, the will and strength of the major powers should also calm Israel and Iran down.
All in all, the most vivid description of Israel's reciprocal rhetoric with Iran is as Israel's deputy ambassador to China said, the game has been turned and ended, but Israel will choose to launch a larger attack on Iran's proxies.