Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart Ali Bagheri Kani on Sunday that the Chinese Communist Party supports Iran “defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity” prior to an expected Iranian attack on Israel.
The Iranian Islamist regime has been threatening a large-scale attack on Israel for nearly two weeks in response to the killing of Hamas “political” leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31. An explosion in Haniyeh’s lodgings eliminated the terror chief during a visit to Iran for the inauguration of current President Masoud Pezeshkian. The elimination of such a high-ranking terrorist leader under the security of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, was a major embarrassment for the Iranian regime.
No country, including Israel, or other entity has taken responsibility for the explosion, but Iranian officials were quick to claim that Israeli forces, with American aid, executed the attack. IRGC leaders have been promising to rain down Iran’s “holy wrath” on the Jewish state since the assassination, but have yet to conduct any known attack at press time.
In the context of highly elevated tensions between Israel and Iran, exacerbated by Iran’s belligerent remarks, the Chinese government moved to lend its support to the world’s premier sponsor of terrorism, which is believed to spend $100 million a year on Palestinian terrorists such as Hamas.
“China supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security and national dignity in accordance with the law, and supports the Iranian side in its efforts to maintain regional peace and stability,” Wang reportedly told Bagheri, according to the Chinese government newspaper Global Times.
“Wang said that China has always upheld justice in Middle East affairs and supported all parties in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests,” the newspaper continued, “especially in supporting the restoration of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinians.”
On Haniyeh’s killing, Wang reportedly said that China “firmly opposes and strongly condemns the act of assassination and considers it a serious violation of the basic norms of international relations.”
Wang further described the incident with Haniyeh as “a grave infringement on Iran’s sovereignty, security and dignity, and a direct undermining of the cease-fire negotiation process in Gaza, as well as an impact on regional peace and stability.”
The Chinese outlet reported that Bagheri thanked Wang for China’s support and affirmed that Iran was planning to “resolutely defend its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.” PressTV, and Iranian state outlet, quoted Kani, stating on social media, that he told Wang Iran has a “legal right to an appropriate and deterrent reaction to guarantee the stability and security of the region.”
The Hong-Kong-based South China Morning Post noted that Wang’s call with Bagheri was the first since Haniyeh’s death. The Chinese government kept close communication with Haniyeh and was in the process of attempting to detoxify Hamas by hosting meetings with other Palestinian groups when the Tehran explosion occurred.
Iran has provided no evidence for Israel being behind the explosion that killed Haniyeh and has controversially claimed that some sort of airstrike was responsible for the attack, which would have required the violation of Iranian airspace. It has rejected an alternative explanation posed by the New York Times, citing Mideast officials: that the actors responsible infiltrated the IRGC and planted a bomb in room Haniyeh was staying in during the inauguration as early as two months before his visit, then detonated it remotely. The IRGC has flatly rejected this explanation and the assumption that the IRGC failed to protect itself from infiltration.
While the Israeli government has not commented on the incident, the administration of leftist President Joe Biden has openly denied any role in the Hamas chief’s killing.
“This is something we were not aware of or involved in,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on July 31.
Biden himself appeared to condemn the attack, claiming “it has not helped” attempts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza.
Iranian officials have been promising a large-scale attack on Israel since Haniyeh’s death. Reports on Sunday evening indicated that the Israeli government is now expected Iran to fulfill that threat “within days,” the Times of Israel alleged, rather than allowing its proxy terrorist organization Hezbollah to conduct the attacks.
China has invested heavily in elevating its geopolitical profile in the Middle East through support for the region’s Islamists and criticism of Israeli self-defense operations. Beijing has sought out deeper relations with Iran in particular, facilitating its entry into the anti-American BRICS geopolitical bloc and increasing investment into the country. In February, the head of Iran’s foreign investment management agency said that was investing ten times more capital into Iran in 2024 than it was a year prior.
Both the investment boom and the BRICS entry occurred during the tenure of late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a mysterious helicopter crash in May alongside his foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Following a special election that led to Pezeshkian, a “moderate,” taking over, Chinese dictator Xi Jinping rapidly moved to congratulate Pezeshkian and offer his support.
“In the face of the complex regional and international landscapes, China and Iran have always supported each other and stuck together through thick and thin,” Xi reportedly told the currently president.
China was supportive towards Iran during the last large-scale attempted attack of Israel in April. At the time, Iran claimed to be retaliating against a strike against the Iranian embassy in Damascus that Tehran blamed Israel for. Iranian forces launched over 300 projectiles into Israel, including drones and various missiles. While extremely aggressive, the attack was a resounding failure; the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) blocked “99 percent” of the projectiles and prevent any significant damage.
“Chinese experts believe Iran’s retaliatory attack in response to Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Syria is ‘restrained,’” the Global Times reported at the time. “However, in order for tensions to de-escalate, it is imperative that Israel refrains from taking further provocative actions that could exacerbate the situation and lead to more damage for Iran.”
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