China has warned against attempts to change the government in Iran amid the ongoing US-Israeli offensive, saying such a move would not gain public backing.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made the remarks during a news conference on the sidelines of an annual gathering in Beijing, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday, reports Al Jazeera.
“Plotting a ‘colour’ revolution or seeking government change will find no popular support,” Wang said.
He also called for respect for the sovereignty of Iran and all other countries and urged an “immediate stop to military operations” in the Middle East to prevent escalation and the conflict from spreading further.
“This is a war that should not have happened, and it is a war that does no one any good,” Wang said. “Force provides no solution, and armed conflict will only increase hatred and breed new crises.”
Wang stressed that people in the Middle East should decide the region’s affairs independently and urged outside powers not to interfere in internal matters.
“The people of the Middle East are the true masters of this region, and the region’s affairs should be determined by the countries there independently,” he said.
“A strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle,” he told reporters.
Wang also called on “all sides” to return to negotiations as soon as possible.
“All sides” should return to the negotiating table “as quickly as possible” to resolve their differences through dialogue and work towards common security, he added.
China, he said, is ready to cooperate with countries in the region to “restore order to the Middle East, calm to its people, and peace to the world”.
Meanwhile, a classified report by the US National Intelligence Council suggests that even a large-scale US military offensive would be unlikely to topple Iran’s military and clerical leadership structure.
The report, published on Saturday by The Washington Post citing three sources familiar with the classified document, challenges the claim of Donald Trump that he could “clean out” Iran’s leadership and install a preferred successor, indicating that such an outcome would be far from certain.
Beijing has also condemned the killing of Ali Khamenei.
Wang further said that China’s ties with Russia remain “steadfast and unshakeable”, despite Western criticism over Moscow’s role in sustaining the war in Ukraine.
