Resolute efforts needed to restore peace after 'hammer' blows smash negotiations: China Daily editorial

If the problems in the Middle East could be solved by unilateral military actions, there would not have been decades of chaos in the region. That the Middle East is always trapped in a vicious circle of violence is inseparable from the United States' obsession with leveraging its military advantages to bring its desired "changes" to the region.

Whether it is the Iran nuclear issue, as is the case now, or the previous Iraq War, the Syrian civil war or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, whenever the international community and regional countries have made progress toward resolving the disputes through political means, the US, along with its regional allies and proxies, acts to change the rules of the game in a might-makes-right direction.

For example, there is a strong international consensus that the Iran nuclear issue should be settled by political means, and intensive diplomatic endeavors have been made in that regard — seemingly supported by the US — that appeared to be bearing fruit until the US pounded through them with its "Midnight Hammer".

People have every reason to suspect that using force to maintain long-term chaos in the Middle East is the geostrategic purpose of the US.

A united Middle East, occupying a pivotal position on the world economic and political map thanks to its resources and strategic position, would be another important force promoting multilateralism and a multipolar world, neither of which appeals to the exceptionalist worldview of Washington.

The history of the past few decades has convinced the US that keeping the Middle East in perpetual instability and provoking conflicts between countries, sects and ethnic groups in the region benefits the US' global geostrategic layout.

From this perspective, it is not difficult to understand why the US administration was so determined to carry out its military action on Saturday, ignoring the warnings of the international community.

So it should come as no surprise to hear the US president on Sunday raising the possibility of enforced "regime change" in Iran, even though senior officials in his administration had stated a few hours earlier that this was not something the US was interested in.

The US attacks on Iran seriously violate the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law, as well as Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity. Yet different administrations of the US have made it clear that as far as the US is concerned its interests always come before international laws and rules, even those that it has drawn up itself in its favor.

So the international community's condemnation of the US' lawbreaking attacks on Iran has been like water off a duck's back. Likewise, the US has been impervious to the criticism that its pugnacious impulsive has exacerbated tensions in the Middle East and dealt a heavy blow to the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, as these are not part of its agenda.

The more the US is hell-bent on interrupting the political resolution of the Iran nuclear issue, the more the international community should stand firm and endeavor to realize a political settlement.

As Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong said at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Sunday, diplomatic means to address the Iran nuclear issue have not been exhausted, and there is still hope for a peaceful solution.

Parties should stay committed to the political settlement of the Iran nuclear issue and work to bring it back onto the track of a political solution through dialogue and negotiation, with a view to reaching an agreement acceptable to all parties. China has called on parties concerned to abide by international law, curb the impulse to use force, and avoid exacerbating the conflict and adding fuel to the fire.

Parties to the conflict should make every effort to avoid harm to innocent civilians and refrain from attacking civilian facilities. To that end China has called for an immediate ceasefire and an end to the hostilities. It stands ready to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to restore peace and stability in the Middle East.