Russia, China raise diplomatic voice against US-Israel attack on Iran | Military news

China’s foreign minister tells Israel to end attacks; Russia’s FM Lavrov says there is no sign Tehran is looking for a nuclear bomb.

Russia and China have criticized the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with Moscow saying there is no evidence Tehran is developing nuclear weapons and Beijing demanding an immediate halt to the joint strikes.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar on Tuesday that the attack on Iran came as talks between Washington and Tehran “made significant progress, including addressing Israel’s security concerns,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, this process has been hampered by military action. China opposes any military attacks launched by Israel and the US against Iran,” Wang said during a phone call to the Israeli foreign minister, according to the ministry.

“China calls for an immediate halt to military operations to prevent further escalation of the conflict and loss of control,” Wang said.

“Force cannot really solve problems; instead, it brings new problems and serious long-term consequences,” he said.

According to China’s Foreign Ministry, the Tsar agreed to Wang’s request to take “concrete measures to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions” in Iran.

Tuesday’s call with Israel and Beijing’s apparent efforts to stabilize the spiraling regional situation followed calls by Wang on Monday to discuss the conflict with the foreign ministers of Iran, Oman and France.

America will not attack those with nuclear bombs

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the US and Israel on Tuesday, saying a war against Iran could lead to the outcome he wants to prevent: nuclear proliferation.

Lavrov told a news conference that the logical consequence of the US and Israel’s actions would be “the emergence of forces in Iran … in favor of doing exactly what the Americans want to avoid – acquiring a nuclear bomb.”

“Because the US will not attack those who have nuclear bombs,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov said that Arab countries may now join the race to acquire nuclear weapons, given the experience of recent days and “the problem of nuclear proliferation starting to spiral out of control”.

Israel is widely seen as the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, which it neither confirms nor denies.

“The paradoxically declared noble goal of starting a war to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons promotes the exact opposite trend,” he said.

Lavrov, who said Moscow has yet to see any evidence that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, spoke to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday and said Russia was ready to help find a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

As the US and Israel launched their first strikes on Iran on Saturday, Russia’s foreign ministry accused the close allies of carrying out a “premeditated and unprovoked act of armed aggression against a sovereign and independent UN member state”.

The ministry said the two countries hid the real intention of regime change in Tehran “under the guise” of talks to normalize relations with Iran.

The ministry warned that the US and Israel were “rapidly pushing the region towards humanitarian, economic and potential radiological disaster”.

“The responsibility for the negative consequences of this man-made crisis, including the unexpected chain reaction and spiraling violence, rests squarely on them,” the statement added.

Russia has faced its own accusations of aggression against the sovereign state after launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a war now in its fifth year.