China not expected to provide military support to Iran in war with Israel, expert says

President Xi Jinping has called for all parties, but 'especially Israel', to halt strikes

Israel's air defences intercept Iranian missiles over Tel Aviv. Hundreds have been killed as the countries exchange missile strikes. EPA

China is not expected to come to Iran’s defence in its war with Israel, now entering its seventh day, a Chinese expert told The National.

“In the war between Russia and Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi was very clear that China stood with peace and not with either side. So this time, whether it's Israel or Iran, China’s position remains the same,” said Zhou Rong, senior analyst at the Renmin University of China.

“China will do its best to promote peace in the region. It will act within its capacity. We will do more to support Iran, morally, but no one – not China or any other country – can stop Israel’s attacks. All we can do is try to form a united front against Israel’s aggressive behaviour and help Iran with some level of resistance. But even then, China still hopes to stop the war between the two sides.”

The conflict flared last week, when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, a co-ordinated attack involving air and drone strikes against Iranian nuclear, military and regime targets. The strikes killed senior commanders in the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and nuclear scientists.

At least 639 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 1,300 wounded, a Washington-based Iranian human rights group said. In retaliation, Iran has fired about 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel, killing at least 24 people and wounding hundreds.

China's President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for all parties, but "especially Israel", to stop hostilities in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese state media reported.

"Parties to the conflict, especially Israel, should cease hostilities as soon as possible to prevent a cyclical escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war," Mr Xi said, according to Xinhua.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said this week that the country had begun evacuating its citizens from Israel and Iran. Chinese authorities are in communication with Iran, Israel and various parties to push for a ceasefire, ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a press briefing.

Fears are mounting over potential US involvement in the war. President Donald Trump on Wednesday remained ambiguous over whether American forces would strike Iranian nuclear sites and said Tehran had made contact in a bid to negotiate.

His comments came a day after he appeared to be preparing for war and demanded the “unconditional surrender” of the Iranian government. “You don't know. I may do it, I may not do it – I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do,” Mr Trump said at the White House during a ceremony to install new flagpoles.

Mr Zhou believes Mr Trump is concerned about the possibility of the war spreading across the entire region. “We know the US has major military bases in the Middle East. Unless those bases are directly targeted, Mr Trump is likely to hesitate before engaging the US in a war against Iran,” he said. “Trump is weighing whether to attack Iran or increase pressure to force it into a deal with the US."

Mr Zhou said that Israel’s recent strikes had killed several experienced IRGC generals. "These targeted killings will continue,” he noted. “The problem for Iran is that it cannot mount a decent, large-scale retaliation against Israel. Some of the new officers promoted after the deaths of seasoned commanders are inexperienced. In this case, Iran’s retaliation against Israel will be weaker.”