China Urges US and Iran to Uphold Ceasefire Agreement
Beijing (ANTARA) - The Chinese government has called on the United States and Iran to remain committed to maintaining peace based on the memorandum of understanding signed in June.
“We call on the US and Iran to follow up on their memorandum of understanding, resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiation, and avoid the use of force,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at a press conference in Beijing.
On 14 June, Iran and the US announced they had reached a 14-point understanding through Pakistani mediation to end the war and settle disputes through dialogue and negotiation.
The MoU came into effect on 18 June after being signed electronically by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and US President Donald Trump.
However, on Tuesday evening (7/7), the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed it had launched a series of new strikes on 80 military sites in Iran, describing them as retaliation for Iranian attacks on commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday (8/7) morning, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched missile and drone attacks on 85 US military sites across the Middle East, including Salman Port and the headquarters of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, and Ali Al-Salem Air Base in Kuwait.
“We are closely following the latest developments in the Middle East. Resuming the conflict benefits no one, and military means cannot resolve fundamental problems,” Mao Ning stressed.
US President Donald Trump, also on Wednesday, subsequently stated that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Iran to end the conflict had come to an end.
“That’s a very interesting question for me. I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them (Iran) anymore. They are scum,” Trump told journalists on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara, Türkiye.
He signalled that his patience with diplomatic efforts had run out following Iran’s attacks on merchant ships, describing Iran’s leaders in Tehran as “liars”.
Trump said he did not know whether the situation involving Iran would escalate again into a full-scale military conflict, but he stressed that the US had many ways to win if that occurred.
He also affirmed that Washington’s primary focus this time is to pursue the full “denuclearisation” of Iran.
US strikes on five provinces in Iran on 8-9 July killed at least 14 people and wounded 78 others, according to a report by the Iranian Health Ministry on Thursday.
According to the ministry, 47 of the wounded remain hospitalised, whilst the other casualties have been discharged after receiving medical treatment.