Iran, Israel, China, USA

 Wang Yi telephoned the Iranian Foreign Minister and the Israeli Foreign Minister respectively. Why did China  support Iran this time?

On June 14th, the day after Israel  conducted airstrikes against Iran on the 13th, Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi held phone conversations with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, speaking first with Iran and then with Israel.

The distinct sharpness of China's stance on the current situation is clearly evident in the Foreign Ministry's readouts. In the call with the Iranian Foreign Minister, China used unusually strong adjectives to state its position unambiguously: "condemned in explicit terms Israel’s attack on Iran, and firmly opposed such a crude act of attack targeting Iranian state organs and causing casualties among innocent civilians... Israel’s attack seriously violates the UN Charter and international law, set a dangerous precedent by targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, and may bring about catastrophic consequences."

Objectively speaking, China is not the country with the most influence over Israel; the United States holds that position. Yet in this critical moment, in his call with the Israeli Foreign Minister, Wang Yi expressed China's "explicit opposition to Israel’s violation of international law by using force to attack Iran. Such action is especially unacceptable when efforts are still being made for a political settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue."

Terms like "condemned in explicit terms," "firmly opposed," "explicit opposition," and "unacceptable" are perhaps frequently heard in diplomatic exchanges on the UN stage. However, the severity of the tone, the clarity of the stance, and the gravity of the position expressed by the Chinese Foreign Minister are extremely rare. This also indicates that the situation has reached a point where China feels compelled to speak strongly, particularly to warn Israel that if it continues to ignore appeals and catastrophic consequences ensue, leading to damage to China's interests, Israel will be held responsible.

Why is China providing such firm support to Iran this time?

Beyond upholding international law and global justice, it is also to make Iran understand that the arrogant and self-aggrandizing ideology they have clung to is overly illusory. Their proclaimed stance of "Neither East, nor West, only the Islamic Republic" – dismissive and self-righteous – proves utterly ineffective when encountering difficulties. They cannot expect others to speak up for them.

China may be powerless to stop the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is among the first major powers, and the most unequivocal, to express its position. This clarity is meant to prompt more countries to voice their stances. Even if Israel persists stubbornly and subjects Tehran to intensive bombing, while China cannot rescue Iran, what is more crucial for China is that the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the fundamental norms of international relations are not destroyed by Israel. Otherwise, the strong attacking the weak would become the norm. At the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War (end of World War II), Israel's actions appear particularly incongruous.

王毅分别与伊朗外长和以色列外长通话。中方为何此次力挺伊朗？

6月14日，即以色列13日对伊朗实施空袭的第二天，中国外交部长王毅分别与伊朗外长阿拉格奇和以色列外长萨尔通话，先与伊朗方面通话，后与以色列方面通话。

中方对当前局势的立场鲜明，在外交部的通报中清晰可见。在与伊朗外长的通话中，中方使用了异常强硬的措辞，明确表明立场：“明确谴责以色列对伊朗的袭击，坚决反对这种针对伊朗国家机构、造成无辜平民伤亡的粗暴袭击行径……以色列的袭击严重违反《联合国宪章》和国际法，开创了针对伊朗核设施的危险先例，可能带来灾难性后果。”

 客观地说，中国并非对以色列影响力最大的国家，美国才是。然而，在此关键时刻，王毅在与以色列外长的通话中表达了中方“明确反对以色列违反国际法，武力攻击伊朗的行为。在伊核问题政治解决仍在努力推进的情况下，这种行为尤其不可接受”。

“明确谴责”、“坚决反对”、“明确反对”、“不可接受”等措辞或许在联合国舞台的外交交流中屡见不鲜。然而，中国外长表达的语气之严厉、立场之清晰、立场之严肃，却极为罕见。这也表明，事态已到了中方不得不发出强硬声明的地步，尤其要警告以色列，如果以色列继续无视呼吁，造成灾难性后果，损害中方利益，以色列将承担责任。

中国此次为何如此坚定地支持伊朗？

 除了维护国际法和全球正义之外，也是为了使伊朗明白，他们所秉持的傲慢自大的意识形态过于虚幻。他们所宣称的“不分东方，不分西方，只要伊斯兰共和国”的立场——这种轻蔑和自以为是——在遇到困难时完全无效。他们不能指望别人为他们说话。

中国或许无力阻止以色列总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡的行动，但它是最早、也是最明确地表明立场的大国之一。这种明确性旨在促使更多国家发出自己的立场。即使以色列坚持不懈，对德黑兰进行密集轰炸，中国也无法拯救伊朗，但对中国而言，更重要的是，《联合国宪章》的宗旨和原则以及国际关系基本准则不会被以色列破坏。否则，强者欺弱者将成为常态。 在世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年之际，以色列的举动显得尤为不协调。