Iranians attend a funeral in Tehran for seven members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in attacks in Syria.
Hussein Bayris | AFP | Getty Images
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated as Western diplomats put pressure on China to prevent Iran from carrying out direct retaliatory strikes against Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other counterparts in Turkey and Saudi Arabia earlier this week as concerns grow over Tehran’s retaliation against Israel.
U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Blinken asked foreign ministers to “make clear that escalation is not in anyone’s interest and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate.” Thursday said.
“We have also engaged with European allies and partners over the past few days, urging them to send a clear message to Iran that escalation is not in Iran’s interest, not in the interest of the region, and not in the interest of the world.”
Reuters quoted German officials as saying on Friday that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit China next week and that Germany has been in contact with Beijing over Iran, where China is influential.
U.S. and European officials are maintaining a delicate relationship with China, denouncing it as a trade risk while urging China to use its vast diplomatic clout against countries isolated by Western sanctions.
Beijing is an important trading partner of Russia and Iran and one of the last recipients of Russian and Iranian oil exports. The three countries are also members of the China-led BRICS emerging markets alliance.
Iran strikes back
Israel’s war against the Tehran-backed Palestinian group Hamas began in October after the militant group launched terror attacks. Israel has also been fighting factional attacks in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria, which it views as proxies for Iran.
Washington, a close ally of Israel, has repeatedly warned Tehran not to interfere in the conflict in Gaza.
Tehran insists it did not direct the armed group in the offensive, but has previously praised Hamas for its October 7 terror attack.
Tensions increased earlier this month, and on April 1, a suspected Israeli attack on the Israeli consulate in Damascus, the Syrian capital, resulted in the deaths of seven Iranian military advisers, including senior officials. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the incident.
On Wednesday, Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel “should and will be punished” for the killings in Damascus.
“The consulates and embassies of any country are considered the soil of that country. When they attack our consulate, it means they attack our soil,” he said, According to Iran’s state-owned Islamic Republic News Agency.
in an obvious replyAccording to Google translation, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said that day: “If Iran launches an attack from its territory, Israel will respond and launch an attack within Iran.”
The foreign ministers of Britain and Australia on Thursday urged Iran not to deepen the conflict.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Today I made it clear to Foreign Minister (Hussein) Amir-Abdullahian that Iran must not drag the Middle East into a wider conflict” said on social media on Thursday. “I am deeply concerned that a miscarriage of justice could lead to further violence.”
Australia’s Wong Ying-yin also said she had urged Iran to “use its influence in the region to promote stability”.
Amir-Abderlahian noted that he also spoke with German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock and responded to the three foreign ministers on social media.
He said that when Israel “tramples on international law and the Vienna Convention and violates the immunity of diplomatic representatives and residents, while the United Nations Security Council is unable to issue a statement condemning the terrorist attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus,” legitimate defense with the purpose of punishing the aggressor becomes necessary. . “
Israel’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the statement.
“ironclad” relationship
Any direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory could exacerbate the international fallout from the conflict in Gaza, which has rippled through markets through rising oil prices and trade disruptions caused by Red Sea attacks in Yemen.
The Israel Defense Forces, Israel’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the possibility of such an offensive, which could prompt an Israeli response.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said after visiting Israel: “We have a simple rule: whoever hurts us, we hurt them. We are ready to meet all the security needs of the State of Israel, whether defensive or offensive Sexual.” Tranov Air Base, according to comments released by his office Thursday..
Washington has expressed solidarity with Israel, although support appeared to have waned slightly after an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip killed seven humanitarian aid workers, which Israel later called a “grave mistake.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that Iran was “threatening a large-scale attack on Israel.”
He added: “As I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is unwavering.”
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