BEIJING, June 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China on Tuesday urged “calm andrestraint” as tensions between the US and Iran escalate following US
President Donald Trump’s new sanctions on Iran.
“We believe that blindly applying maximum pressure will not help solve the
problem,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press
briefing in Beijing.
“Facts have proved that these measures have had the opposite effect and
aggravated regional unrest,” he added.
Relations between Washington and Tehran have rapidly deteriorated over the
past few weeks, after the US accused Iran of being behind a series of attacks
on ships in sensitive Gulf waters — claims hotly denied by Tehran.
On Monday, Trump further raised the stakes in an escalating regional
standoff by imposing sanctions against Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei and top military chiefs.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman denounced the sanctions as “the permanent
closure of the path to diplomacy” with the Trump administration.
“We hope that the parties concerned will maintain calm and restraint and
avoid further escalation of tension,” Geng said.
Last week, Iran and the US teetered on the edge of military confrontation
after Iran shot down a US spy drone and Trump launched a retaliatory strike,
cancelling it at the last minute.