China urges Israel to end war in Iran as regional tensions escalate

Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi urged his Israeli counterpart to help bring about an immediate end to the Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="39043" data-entity-type="event">War in Iran during a call on Tuesday, reportedly held at Israel’s request.The call came three days after Israel and the United States launched a massive attack on Tehran, killing its Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his wife and senior Iranian officials, prompting largely ineffective Iranian counter-attacks across the Middle East so far.“China opposes any military strikes launched by Israel and the US against Iran. Force cannot truly solve problems,” Wang told Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, according to a readout by Xinhua. “China calls for an immediate cessation of military operations to prevent the further escalation and loss of control of the conflict.”Separately, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that two waves of US-Israeli attacks on Iran had killed figures he considered potential leaders in a post-war world.“Most of the people we had in mind are dead,” Trump said as he met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House.“Now we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports.”