China calls for halt to military operations in Middle East, warns of dangerous abyss

Prolonging or even escalating conflict would produce no winners and only push the Middle East into a "dangerous abyss", China's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Jiang Bin, the ministry's spokesman, made the remarks in an online news briefing in response to recent military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have continued for days.

Jiang said that without United Nations Security Council authorization, the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran during ongoing Iran-US negotiations.

"Such behaviors seriously breach international law and basic norms of international relations," he said, noting that China is firmly opposed to moves violating other countries' sovereignty and security and to the abuse of force or the law of the jungle.

China is deeply concerned over the protracted conflict and its spillover into neighboring countries, said Jiang. "It is our consistent position that resorting to force is not the right solution to international disputes."

The continuation and escalation of hostilities produce no winner and will only push the Middle East into a dangerous abyss, inflicting greater suffering on the peoples of the region, said the spokesman.

"The current priority is for relevant parties to immediately stop military operations, return to dialogue and negotiation, and jointly uphold peace and stability in the Middle East and beyond," he said.