China urged the U.S. to use its “special influence” over Israel to ease the conflict with Iran and not to expand it further, after U.S. President Donald Trump put Tehran on notice with a demand of unconditional surrender on the nuclear issue.
Trump warned Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that the U.S. knows where he is hiding and he is an “easy target,” though safe “for now.” Trump added on his Truth Social platform: “Our patience is wearing thin.”
The U.S. has strengthened its military posture in the Middle East, increasing its resources in the region to give Trump the option to join Israel’s strikes on Iran if he sees fit. Israel says it struck Iran to stop an active military nuclear program.
Trump is urging Iran to make a last—ditch deal that ends the war. He says he will not allow Iran to build a nuclear bomb, an ambition Tehran denies having, saying it only seeks nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
China’s Message to Trump
At a regular press briefing on Wednesday, Lin Jian, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was asked for Beijing’s response to Trump’s remarks about Khameini and Iran.
“China is deeply concerned about the developments of the current situation,” Lin said. “We oppose any acts that violate the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, [and] violate other countries’ sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. The escalation of the situation in the Middle East serves no one’s interest.
“Countries that have special influence over Israel should take objective and just positions, shoulder their due responsibilities, and play an active and constructive role in easing the situation, and avoiding the expansion of the conflict.”
Esmail Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with Al Jazeera English that “any American intervention would be a recipe for an all-out war in the region.”
Israel Pounds Tehran as Iran Sends Fewer Missiles
Israeli warplanes pounded Iran’s capital overnight and into Wednesday, hitting a facility used to make uranium centrifuges and another that made missile components, the Israeli military said.
It said it intercepted 10 missiles overnight as Iran’s retaliatory barrages diminish.
Human Rights Activists, a Washington-based Iranian human rights group, said at least 585 people, including 239 civilians, have been killed and more than 1,300 wounded in the Israeli strikes.
Shops have been closed across Iran’s capital, Tehran, including in its famed Grand Bazaar, as people wait in gas lines and pack roads leading out of the city to escape the onslaught.
Iran has fired some 400 missiles and hundreds of drones in retaliatory strikes that have killed at least 24 people in Israel and wounded hundreds.
Some have hit apartment buildings in central Israel, causing heavy damage, and air raid sirens have repeatedly forced Israelis to run for cover.
Iran has fired fewer missiles in each of its barrages, with just a handful launched on Wednesday. It has not explained the decline, but it comes after Israel targeted many Iranian launchers.
All eyes are on Washington, where Trump initially distanced himself from the Israeli attacks but has hinted at greater U.S. involvement, saying he wants something “much bigger” than a ceasefire. (Newsweek)