China denounced the U.S.-Israeli attack on its regional ally Iran, calling Saturday’s missile strikes a violation of Iranian sovereignty and security.
In a statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said halt the military action to avoid escalation of a “tense situation.”
China also urged a resumption of dialogue and negotiation, along with renewed efforts to uphold peace and stability in the Middle East.
Iran and China share what is called a comprehensive strategic partnership. Tehran is a major purchaser of Chinese arms and military equipment, and China buys over 80% of Iran’s exported crude oil.
China is not expected to intervene in the conflict, as its military lacks the needed power projection capabilities.
Beijing operates a military base in Africa’s Djibouti at the south end of the Red Sea, where some 400 People’s Liberation Army marines are stationed.
In the days leading up to the military operation, a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship was spotted stationed in the Red Sea, where news reports say the vessel could spy on U.S. operations.
China has also supplied missiles, drones and air defense systems to Tehran.
Iran is an element of an emerging Beijing anti-U.S. alliance that includes Russia and North Korea.
The Chinese response to the military strikes was less strident than the reaction from Moscow.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the bombings “leave no doubt that this is a deliberate, premeditated, and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state, in direct violation of the fundamental principles and norms of international law.”
Moscow also criticized the attacks for being carried out during negotiations with Iran.
“The aggressors’ intentions are evident and have been stated openly: to dismantle the constitutional order and remove the leadership of a state they deem undesirable because it has refused to yield to the dictates of force and hegemonic pressure,” the ministry said.
Russia called for a return to diplomatic and political tracks.
The bombing raid, called Operation Epic Fury by the Pentagon, included missile strikes on Iranian leaders, ballistic missile sites, nuclear-related sites and other military infrastructure.
The timing of the attacks coincided with a meeting of senior Iranian officials at three locations that were hit simultaneously in what the military calls a decapitation strike, The Wall Street Journal reported.
It is not known if senior Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, survived the bombing.
The raids are ongoing and are expected to last several days.
President Trump said in announcing the action that the goal is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.
“A vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” he said. “Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas and our allies throughout the world.”
Mr. Trump noted the Iranian regime, for 47 years, engaged in a campaign of bloodshed and mass murder that included seizing American hostages and using proxies to kill 241 U.S. military personnel in Beirut in 1983.
A main objective is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, he said.
Iran retaliated by launching missiles at Israel that were mostly intercepted by anti-missile systems and other regional states.
Video posted on X showed an Iranian one-way attack drone hitting a U.S. military radar in Bahrain and a missile strike on a Navy base there.
China’s military has criticized the U.S. and called the American military a force for global chaos.
Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian, a senior colonel, stated in one recent ministry briefing that “the United States is addicted to war.”
“In its more than 240 years since its founding, it has only had 16 years without fighting wars,” he said. “Facts have proven that the United States is the root cause of chaos in the international order, the behind-the-scenes manipulator of global turmoil, and the biggest destroyer of regional peace and stability.”
Col. Wu said the U.S. military has set up more than 800 overseas military bases in over 80 countries and regions and plunged regions such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Libya into suffering.
“The U.S. has sent depleted uranium bombs and cluster munitions to Ukraine, dispatched carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean, and delivered weapons and ammunition to Israel — is this the so-called ‘gospel’ that the ‘human rights defender’ brings to the region?” he said.
In the Asia Pacific region, the U.S. is bolstering military deployments and strengthening regional security partnerships that he said are intensifying “camp confrontation and arms races” and hurting international security and global governance.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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