Beijing, March 8 (ANI) — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged closer cooperation between New Delhi and Beijing, saying the two countries should coordinate their leadership of BRICS to shape a united response to the unfolding crisis in West Asia.
Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress in Beijing, Wang said India and China “must step up and support each other’s presidency of BRICS over the next two years.” He argued that joint leadership by the two Asian powers could have a major international effect and “bring new hope to the Global South,” helping to stabilize developing countries amid rising tensions.
Against the backdrop of an intensified US-Iran confrontation, Wang condemned what he described as a joint US-Israeli military campaign targeting Iran and called for an immediate end to the fighting and a return to diplomacy. “This escalation should never have happened,” he said, adding that military force “will never resolve” the deep-rooted crisis and warning that reliance on force undermines the international order. “A strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle,” Wang said, according to Al Jazeera.
Wang also said China firmly opposes efforts to destabilize the Iranian government, asserting there is no popular backing for regime change in Iran and warning that such aims would further inflame regional tensions.
The remarks came after the Israel Defense Forces said the Israeli Air Force struck multiple Iranian military targets in Tehran. In a post on X, the IDF said, “STRUCK: Several Fuel Storage Complexes Belonging to the IRGC in Tehran,” and described the operation as guided by IDF intelligence against locations it said supplied resources to armed units. The IDF characterized the strikes as significantly damaging what it called the military infrastructure of the “Iranian terrorist regime.”
On Air Force One, US President Donald Trump made sweeping claims about the campaign’s impact on Iran, saying the United States had eliminated Iran’s leadership and describing the actions as removing a “cancer.” Asked about responsibility for the bombing of an elementary girls’ school in Iran, Trump denied US involvement and suggested the strike was caused by Iranian munitions, saying they are “very inaccurate.”
Trump asserted that US forces were “winning the war by a lot,” claiming heavy losses to Iranian naval, air, missile and drone capabilities and saying some forms of Iranian leadership had been wiped out. He declined to fix a timeline for the campaign, saying, “I never project time, whatever it takes,” while describing the Iranian military as “almost nonexistent.”
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, also traveling on Air Force One, said a diplomatic solution remained possible but framed it as ultimately dependent on the President’s decision. Referring to earlier talks, Witkoff said Iranian negotiators had not been cooperative, arguing Tehran insisted on an inalienable right to enrichment and boasted of fuel and enrichment levels, suggesting a change in attitude would be needed for progress.
The current crisis followed a joint US-Israel strike on February 28 on Iranian soil that reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, a development that prompted a severe response from Tehran. Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and regional partners, including strikes that reached Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. Those exchanges have widened the conflict and raised concerns about further risks to civilians and expatriates in the region.
(This report is sourced from a syndicated feed and published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or content.)
