The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct attack on Israel

[Pelican Press 0]

The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct ******* on *******

Iranians attend a ******** procession in Tehran, held for seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members ******* in a strike in Syria.

Hossein Beris | Afp | Getty Images

Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran from escalating tensions in the Middle East with a direct retaliatory strike against *******.

U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken earlier this week spoke with ******** Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other counterparts in Turkey and Saudi Arabia amid rising fears of retaliation by Tehran against *******.

Blinken asked the foreign ministers to “make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest, and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate,” U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller

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“We have also engaged with ********* allies and partners over the past few days and urged them as well to send a clear message to Iran that escalation is not in Iran’s interest, it’s not in the region’s interest, and it’s not in the world’s interest.”

Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting China next week, has also been in contact with Beijing over the issue of Iran, where China has influence, according to a Reuters report on Friday citing ******* officials.

U.S. and ********* officials are treading a fine line with China, denouncing the country as a trade risk while also urging it to use its considerable diplomatic sway with countries isolated by Western sanctions.

Beijing is a critical trade partner of Russia and Iran as one of the last recipients of their oil exports. The three countries are also members of the China-led BRICS coalition of emerging markets.

Iran strikes back

*******’s war against the Tehran-backed ************ ****** began in October, following a ******* ******* by the militant group. ******* has also been trading blows with factions in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, which it views as Iranian proxies.

*******’s close ally Washington has repeatedly warned Tehran against interfering in the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

For its part, Tehran insists it does not direct the militant groups in their offensives, but has previously praised the ****** ******* ******* of Oct. 7.

Tensions spiked at the start of this month, when seven Iranian military advisers, including senior officials, were ******* in a suspected ******** strike on Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1. ******* has not claimed responsibility for the incident.

On Wednesday, Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said ******* “should be punished and will be punished” for the Damascus killings.

“Consulates and embassies of any country are regarded as the soil of that country. When they ******* our consulate, it means that they have attacked our soil”, he said,

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In an apparent

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, ******** Foreign Minister ******* Katz said on the day: “If Iran attacks from its territory – ******* will react and ******* in Iran,” according to a

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U.K. and *********** foreign ministers on Thursday urged Iran not to deepen the conflict.

“Today I made clear to Foreign Minister [Hossein] Amir-Abdollahian that Iran must not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict,” Britain’s David Cameron

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. “I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further *********.”

Australia’s Penny Wong also said she had urged Iran to “use its influence in the region to promote stability.”

Amir-Abdollahian noted that he had also spoken with ******* Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and responded to his three counterparts

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He said that when ******* “tramples on the international law and Vienna Conventions and violates the immunity of diplomatic agents and premises, and the UNSC [UN Security Council] is incapable to issue a statement in condemnation of the ********** ******* on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, legitimate defense with the objective of punishing the aggressor becomes a necessity.”

The ******** Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement.

‘Ironclad’ ties

Any direct ******* by Iran on ******** soil would likely heighten the international impact of the Gaza conflict, which has rippled into markets by way of higher oil prices and trade disruptions caused by Yemeni attacks in the Red Sea.

The ******* Defense Forces, ******** Foreign Ministry and U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC requests for comment on the possibility of such an offensive — which risks an ******** response.

“We have determined a simple rule: Whoever harms us, we will harm them. We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of *******, both defensively and offensively,” ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after a visit to the Tel Nof Air Base,

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Washington has expressed its solidarity with *******, although support looks to have slightly waned after ******** strikes ******* seven humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip, in what ******* later qualified as a “grave mistake.”

U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Iran was “threatening a large and significant ******* on *******.”

“As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to ******** security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is ironclad,” he added.

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Breaking News: Politics,Politics,Breaking News: Markets,Markets,Iran,*******,Foreign policy,Government and politics,China,******* States,Antony Blinken,Joe Biden,Tehran,Benjamin Netanyahu,business news
#West #urges #China #intervene #Iran #fears #direct #******* #*******

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