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China Voices Concern Over US Seizure of Iranian Cargo Ship
(MENAFN) China stepped into the escalating US-Iran standoff Monday, voicing "concern" over American forces boarding an Iranian cargo vessel and calling on both parties to create the conditions needed to restore normalcy at the Strait of Hormuz.
"Strait of Hormuz is an important" waterway for goods and trade globally, and keeping it safe and stable "serves the interests of international community," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
"On the US taking the (Iranian) ship by force, we express our concern," Guo said, urging restraint from both warring sides.
Beijing's reaction came in direct response to President Donald Trump's announcement that American naval forces intercepted and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to breach a US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, with Marines now holding the vessel. Trump said Sunday that the USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, intercepted the Touska after its crew repeatedly ignored warnings to stand down.
China hopes the US and Iran can "fulfil their obligations, abide by the ceasefire, to prevent escalation and provide necessary conditions for re-normalization of the strait," Guo said, urging both sides to "maintain momentum of ceasefire, continue to promote de-escalation" toward a political resolution to the conflict.
The vessel seizure has injected fresh turbulence into an already precarious diplomatic moment. Efforts are currently underway to convene a second round of negotiations between the two sides in Pakistan, even as a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire teeters on the edge of expiration by dawn Wednesday.
The situation at the Strait of Hormuz itself remains deeply volatile. Iran declared the waterway open on Friday, only to seal it again a day later after Trump announced that the blockade of Iranian ports would remain in force.
The broader conflict traces back to February 28, when the US and Israel launched military operations against Tehran, prompting Iran to retaliate with strikes on US assets and bases across the Middle East. Fighting halted on April 8, and Islamabad hosted the highest-level US-Iran engagement since 1979 on April 11-12 — talks that ended without a breakthrough.
Trump has confirmed a US team will travel to Pakistan on Monday for a second round of negotiations, though Tehran has yet to issue any official confirmation of its participation in the renewed Islamabad talks.
"Strait of Hormuz is an important" waterway for goods and trade globally, and keeping it safe and stable "serves the interests of international community," Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing.
"On the US taking the (Iranian) ship by force, we express our concern," Guo said, urging restraint from both warring sides.
Beijing's reaction came in direct response to President Donald Trump's announcement that American naval forces intercepted and disabled an Iranian-flagged cargo ship attempting to breach a US naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman, with Marines now holding the vessel. Trump said Sunday that the USS Spruance, a guided missile destroyer, intercepted the Touska after its crew repeatedly ignored warnings to stand down.
China hopes the US and Iran can "fulfil their obligations, abide by the ceasefire, to prevent escalation and provide necessary conditions for re-normalization of the strait," Guo said, urging both sides to "maintain momentum of ceasefire, continue to promote de-escalation" toward a political resolution to the conflict.
The vessel seizure has injected fresh turbulence into an already precarious diplomatic moment. Efforts are currently underway to convene a second round of negotiations between the two sides in Pakistan, even as a Pakistan-brokered two-week ceasefire teeters on the edge of expiration by dawn Wednesday.
The situation at the Strait of Hormuz itself remains deeply volatile. Iran declared the waterway open on Friday, only to seal it again a day later after Trump announced that the blockade of Iranian ports would remain in force.
The broader conflict traces back to February 28, when the US and Israel launched military operations against Tehran, prompting Iran to retaliate with strikes on US assets and bases across the Middle East. Fighting halted on April 8, and Islamabad hosted the highest-level US-Iran engagement since 1979 on April 11-12 — talks that ended without a breakthrough.
Trump has confirmed a US team will travel to Pakistan on Monday for a second round of negotiations, though Tehran has yet to issue any official confirmation of its participation in the renewed Islamabad talks.
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