Nonmilitary targets, including those related to energy, “must not be attacked,” China’s envoy to the Middle East said, as Trump threatens to strike power plants in Iran over the country’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
“This is a war that should never have happened,” the envoy, Zhai Jun, told reporters in Beijing today. “While negotiations were still underway, the United States and Israel suddenly provoked conflict, causing diplomatic efforts to collapse. This has left all those who pursue peace deeply regretful and disappointed.”
Zhai said Arab countries, especially those in the Gulf, had “suffered undeserved calamities.”
“Under no circumstances should the red line of protecting civilians in military conflicts be crossed,” he said. “Nonmilitary targets related to energy, the economy, and people’s livelihoods must not be attacked.”
Zhai called for an immediate halt to all military action and a return to negotiations as soon as possible. He also urged the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, whose continued closure he said “would bring unbearable consequences.”
