China urges U.S. to play ‘constructive role’ in West Asia
West Asia continued to stay on edge on Friday amid fears of an imminent attack by Iran targeting Israel in retaliation against the April 1 air strike on Iran’s consular annex in Damascus, Syria, with several countries, including India, the U.S. Russia and France, issuing travel and security alerts to their citizens.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has vowed to punish the “evil regime” of Israel after the attack on the consular building in which Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a highranking commander of the Quds Force, the elite wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was assassinated. Iran and Syria immediately blamed Israel for the strike. Israel has neither confirmed nor dismissed its role in the attack. “The question is not if but when. The Supreme Leader, the government and senior military leaders have all warned that a response is coming. Iran cannot back off this time,” a strategic analyst based in Tehran with close links to the regime told The Hindu on the phone, requesting anonymity.
On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein AmirAbdollahian reiterated that Iran’s response is a necessity. “When the Israeli regime completely violates the immunity of individuals and diplomatic places in violation of international law and the Vienna Conventions, legitimate defence is a necessity,” Mr. Abdollahian told his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in a phone call, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pays tributes to the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps killed in the Damascus attack.
In Israel, political leaders as well as military and diplomatic officials said they were ready for any scenario. Asked if it was Israel that carried out the Damascus attack, Michael Ronen, head of South and Southeast Asia Division at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “They say Israel carried out the strike. Well, I don’t know. What I can say is that Israel is ready for any response from
Iran.” American media reported on Friday, citing U.S. and Iranian sources, that an Iranian attack could come within the next 48 hours.
Mr. Khamenei is considering different options, from launching direct strikes using drones and missiles on Israel from Iran to attacking Israeli assets in the region, either directly or through proxies, according to these reports.
Israeli leaders have warned that they will strike inside Iran if the origin of the attack is Iran.
‘Godfather of militias’
“Hamas, Houthis, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad... what do all these terrorist entities have in common? Iran is the godfather of all of them,” Yossi Zilberman, deputy spokesperson of the MFA, told The Hindu here. “Unless Iran is reined in, there won’t be peace in the Middle East,” he said.
Israel has frozen all leaves for combat units “in accordance with the situational assessments” and drafted reservists to strengthen for air defences. The IDF has also scrambled the GPS system, which could be used to confuse incoming weapons. On Thursday, those who turned on their GPS in Tel Aviv found that their location was shown in Beirut. In the northern settlement of Tefen in the Upper Galilee region, close to the Lebanese border, the GPS showed the location of Syrian Golan.
The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Friday told American citizens in Israel that the “security environment remains complex”. U.S. government employees and their family members were asked not to travel “outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Be’er Sheva areas until further notice”.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs advised Indians not to travel to Iran and Israel until further notice. “All those who are currently residing in Iran or Israel are requested to get in touch with Indian Embassies there and register themselves,” it said.
(The reporter was in Israel as part of a media delegation)
Agence France-Presse
China urged the United States to play “a constructive role” in the West Asia on Friday after its top diplomat Wang Yi spoke with his U.S. counterpart Antony Blinken over the phone.
Mr. Blinken used the call to ask Beijing to use its influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel, the State Department said. Concerns of retaliation by Tehran have grown after an Israeli strike on April 1 levelled an Iranian diplomatic building in Damascus.
On Friday, China confirmed the call had taken place, saying Mr. Wang “expressed China’s strong condemnation of the attack” while emphasising the “inviolable” right to security of diplomatic institutions and the need to respect the sovereignty of
Blinken used the call to ask Beijing to use its influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel
Iran and Syria.
“China will continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the West Asia issue... and contribute to cooling down the situation,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning added.
Iran’s clerical leadership has vowed to strike back after the attack, which killed seven members of the Islamic Republic’s elite Revolutionary Guards, including two generals.
The United States has repeatedly made public appeals for China to do more to address the crisis, including through pressure on Iran, which supports Hamas.