Iran’s friends don’t like the war decimating Tehran, but they’re not ready to join the fight against Israel and potentially the U.S. Instead, Russia and now China have urged deescalation, emphasizing the dangerous consequences the escalating conflict could have on the whole world. “If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

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“The warring parties, especially Israel, should cease fire as soon as possible to prevent a cycle of escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war,” Xi added. Xi’s comments came in a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in which both leaders called for a ceasefire, according to a readout by China’s foreign ministry. Earlier this week, Russia warned that Israel’s attacks have brought the world “millimeters” from nuclear calamity, and Putin urged Trump against attacking Iran, as the President is mulling direct U.S. military engagement in the war that has already killed hundreds in Iran and dozens in Israel. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that Putin and Xi “strongly condemn Israel’s actions, which violate the U.N. Charter and other norms of international law.” Ushakov added that Xi expressed support for Putin’s suggestion to mediate the conflict, an offer Trump said he has rejected.

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China, like Russia, has also positioned itself as a potential peacebroker, though experts say it’s unlikely Israel would accept Beijing as a neutral conciliator, given its past criticisms of Israel and ties with Iran. Here’s what to know about how China has responded so far to the conflict and what it may see is at stake. Rhetorical but not material support “Iran doesn’t need communiqués or declarations, but concrete help, like anti-aircraft systems or fighter jets,” Andrea Ghiselli, a Chinese foreign policy expert at the University of Exeter, told France 24. But communiqués and declarations are all China is likely to offer, experts tell TIME. William Figueroa, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Groningen, tells TIME that China’s lack of military support should not come as a surprise. China has historically followed a policy of non-interference, focusing more on domestic issues while aiming to avoid entanglement in protracted foreign conflicts. Earlier this year, China similarly called on both India and Pakistan, the latter being an “ironclad friend” of China, to show restraint. And while it has been accused of providing “very substantial” support to Russia in its war against Ukraine, China has maintained that it doesn’t provide weapons or troops to its neighbor. (Reports suggest, however, that its material support has included lethal systems.)

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the White House doesn’t see “any signs” of China providing military support to Iran “at this moment in time.” Instead, China has offered words. Beijing has been “harshly critical” of Israel, says Figueroa. In separate calls with his Iranian and Israeli counterparts over the past weekend, after Israel launched an attack on Friday against Iran, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed that China “explicitly condemns Israel’s violation of Iran’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.” It has also publicly advised the U.S. against greater involvement in the conflict. “The heating up of the Middle East region serves no one’s interests,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Tuesday. “To fan up the flames, use threats and exert pressure does not help deescalate the situation and will only aggravate tensions and enlarge the conflict.”

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“The international community, especially influential major countries, should uphold a fair position and a responsible attitude to create the necessary conditions for promoting a ceasefire and returning to dialogue and negotiation so as to prevent the regional situation from sliding into the abyss and triggering a greater disaster,” a Chinese state-media editorial declared on Thursday. China’s diplomatic response reflects its priority to “lower the temperature,” says Figueroa, particularly in tensions with the U.S. Diplomatic limitations China has sought to deepen its investments and influence in the Middle East over the years, which has raised the expectations of its regional diplomacy to “sky high” levels, says Figueroa. But while Beijing touted brokering a historic truce between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023, the task before it now is much taller. Wang, the Chinese foreign minister, said China is “ready to play a constructive role” in resolving the conflict, according to foreign ministry readouts of his calls with both Iran and Israel, but unlike with Saudi Arabia and Iran, Figueroa says, Israel has expressed no interest in negotiating a resolution. And even if Israel was interested in coming to the table, China is unlikely to be seen as a neutral arbiter given its ties with Iran, criticisms of Israel including over Gaza, and ongoing global power competition with the U.S., Israel’s biggest ally.

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China has developed strong economic ties with Iran over the years, becoming Iran’s largest trading partner and export market, especially for oil—a critical lifeline for Iran as the U.S. has placed severe economic sanctions on the country. Iran joined BRICS, the intergovernmental group China has viewed as an alternative collective of emerging powers to the Western-oriented G7, in 2024; joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Beijing-backed security group, in 2023; and the two countries signed a 25-year cooperative agreement in 2021. While China has also maintained an economic relationship with Israel—China is Israel’s second-biggest trading partner and the two countries have had an “innovative comprehensive partnership” since 2017—Figueroa says it’s “not close enough to have a serious influence over Israel’s actions.” When asked about the possibility of China acting as a mediator, Israel’s Ambassador to Beijing Eli Belotserkovsky told the South China Morning Post on Wednesday, “at this stage, we are concentrating on the military campaign. This is our main concern at the moment, and we need to see how things will develop.” Still, he added that Israel would “continue talking to China as [part of] an ongoing process.”

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Failure to help bring peace to the Middle East could seriously dampen China’s recent efforts to portray itself as an effective global peacebroker, especially after Ukraine already rejected a peace plan Beijing had proposed in 2023. And if Iran’s regime falls, Marc Lanteigne, an associate professor of political science at the Arctic University of Norway, told France 24, the China-mediated truce with Saudi Arabia would also risk “going up in smoke.” “It is hard to predict how the conflict itself might impact [China’s diplomatic] efforts,” Figueroa says. “A wider conflict would undoubtedly complicate Chinese diplomatic efforts, which largely rest on their ability to provide economic development.” Economic concerns While the Iran-China trade balance is largely skewed in China’s favor—around a third of Iranian trade is with China, but less than 1% of Chinese trade is with Iran—China is heavily dependent on the Middle East’s oil.

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“China is by far the largest importer of Iranian oil,” according to a statement in March by the U.S. State Department, which added: “The Iranian regime uses the revenue it generates from these sales to finance attacks on U.S. allies, support terrorism around the world, and pursue other destabilizing actions.” Sara Haghdoosti, executive director of public education and advocacy coalition Win Without War, tells TIME that China “has a vested interest in seeing the conflict end before Israel strikes more of Iran’s oil infrastructure.” But China is less dependent on Iran itself than on access to the region’s reserves. “The Islamic Republic is a replaceable energy partner,” according to a Bloomberg analysis. For global oil markets too, changes to Iran’s supply alone are unlikely to cause significant price disruptions. “Even in the unlikely event that all Iranian exports are lost, they could be replaced by spare capacity from OPEC+ producers,” assessed credit agency Fitch Ratings earlier this week.

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Around 20% of the world’s oil trade, however, passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has threatened to close in retaliation if the U.S. joins the war. “If the United States officially and operationally enters the war in support of the Zionists, it is the legitimate right of Iran in view of pressuring the U.S. and Western countries to disrupt their oil trade’s ease of transit,” said Iranian lawmaker Ali Yazdikhah on Thursday, according to state-sponsored Iranian news agency Mehr News. Doing so would also impact China, for which more than 40% of crude oil imports come from the Middle East. The conflict’s “greatest impact on China could be on energy imports and supply chain security,” Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University, told the South China Morning Post. “While Beijing will continue to condemn the conflict, it will also seek to balance ties with Israel and the Gulf states and promote stable energy flows,” according to Bloomberg’s analysts, especially as surging commodity prices would exacerbate domestic economic growth challenges already hampered by the trade war with the U.S. and an ongoing real estate crisis.

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In response to a question about the potential interruption of Iranian oil supplies to China, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated on Tuesday the need to “ease tensions as soon as possible” in order to “prevent the region from spiraling into greater turmoil.” A contained conflict could be good for China “If a wider conflict breaks out,” Figueroa says, “the impact on China’s economic projects and investments in the region would be significant.” Foreign policy analyst Wesley Alexander Hill noted in a Forbes op-ed that an escalated conflict could force China into a bind between taking “decisive action” to defend Iran, which might alienate Saudi Arabia, or doing nothing militarily and letting Israeli and potentially U.S. attacks “continue to degrade Iranian export capacity,” which would leave other regional partners with a “dim view [of] what Chinese commitment under pressure looks like.”

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Still, some analysts have suggested that China—as well as Russia—may be content for now to sit back and let things play out, with their higher priorities clearly elsewhere.

According to Bloomberg Economics analyst Alex Kokcharov, a contained conflict in the Middle East could “distract Washington from strategic competition with China.”

Added Bloomberg’s bureau chief in China, Allen Wan, in a newsletter Friday: “Should the U.S. once again get tangled up in a war in the Middle East, that’d probably suit China just fine. Beijing and the [People’s Liberation Army] would appreciate the chance to squeeze Taiwan tighter.”

“At very least, both powers [Russia and China] are content to watch the U.S. further squander goodwill with gulf Arab partners by backing another destabilizing conflict in the region,” Haghdoosti, the Win Without War executive director, tells TIME. And they, she adds, are likely “shedding no tears that the U.S. military is currently burning through stocks of difficult-to-replenish missile defense interceptors to shield Israel.”

As people in Israel wait out repeated missile attacks, some wonder how the conflict with Iran will impact the war in Gaza and the fate of hostages still held there.

In one of Tel Aviv’s underground bomb shelters — little more than a narrow corridor with thick walls — time seemed to stand still.

There was no internet connection to get any information about the explosions heard outside, as exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran continue.

“We can make the distinction by now what is an interception or a hit, but obviously you worry about how close it is or if someone you know might be in danger,” said Lior, a young Israeli man who declined to give his surname, who was trying in vain to find reception on his phone.

Since Israel attacked Iran a week ago, life in Tel Aviv has been dictated by the rhythm of phone alerts issued by Israel’s Home Front Command and air raid sirens warning of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran.

On Thursday morning, Iran launched another missile barrage at Israel. While most were intercepted by Israel’s defense systems, some hit buildings in the city of Holon and the Tel Aviv suburb of Ramat Gan, as well as the Soroka Hospital in Beer Sheba in southern Israel, leaving a trail of destruction in the surgical ward. Israeli media reported that the complex had been evacuated the previous day.

Israel: Hospital in the south hit after Iran missile attack To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

‘A very strange and unsettling time’

Alerts come at any time, and it can take some time for the all-clear.

“Life must go on, and we’ve been through many other crises, but this is certainly a very strange and unsettling time,” Lior told DW.

When another alert was recently triggered in the early morning hours, one of the missiles evaded the defense systems and hit a building just a kilometer (0.6 miles) away.

The shelter shook from the impact, leaving people gasping.

“It’s scary. We understand that the missiles are deadlier and that the situation feels different from previous conflicts. I wonder how long this can go on for. People are already on edge from not sleeping most nights,” said Shira, who also declined to give her last name.

Many in Israel are scared by the attacks from Iran, but they also said ‘life must go on’ Image: Tania Krämer/DW

Netanyahu eyes his legacy after October 7 attacks

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran is the greatest threat to Israel’s security. Iran insists that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, but Netanyahu believes it serves military purposes. Iran’s leadership has vowed to annihilate Israel and its people, and Iran y also poses a threat through its ballistic missiles and its many proxies in the region.

Netanyahu had threatened for years to attack Iran and reportedly came close it several times, but in the end, a larger conflict was always avoided. Instead, Israel fought a so-called “shadow war” against Iran through cyberattacks, rhetorical threats and against the many pro-Iranian proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.

But all this had changed last Friday June 13.

“For many years [Netanyahu] chickened out. He was not really ready to take up steps that may end up with fatalities and destruction. So what happened now?” Akiva Eldar, a veteran Israeli journalist and commentator, told DW.

Like other analysts, Eldar believes Netanyahu has to recover from “his “legacy” of the 7 October massacres.

Some analysts believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjami Netanyahu wants to reestablish himself as a guarantor of Israeli security Image: Marc Israel Sellem/POOL/IMAGO

Until 7 October, 2023, Netanyahu had presented himself as the ultimate safeguard of Israel’s security. But this image was shattered when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 251 hostage in what has been described by many as the country’s worst security failure.

This also triggered the war in Gaza, where some 55,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israeli’s war on Hamas began, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Widespread Israeli support for attacks on Iran

Netanyahu’s domestic critics accuse him of not wanting to end the war in Gaza and of failing to agree to a new deal with the Hamas militant group that would secure the release of the remaining hostages in exchange for a ceasefire.

But his far-right coalition partners threatened to leave the coalition and trigger early elections if he ended the war without toppling Hamas. In light of his corruption trial, critics also accuse Netanyahu of using the war as a means of maintaining his hold on power.

Following last week’s attacks on Iran, which were widely praised on Israeli television broadcasts, Netanyahu appears to have corrected some of his failures.

There is broad support among Jewish Israelis for the strikes in Iran. Some 83% back Israel’s military operations and express their confidence in Israel’s security institutions and preparedness for a prolonged conflict. That’s according to an opinion poll conducted this week by Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A recent study shows broad support among Israelis for the attacks on Iran Image: Matan Golan/ZUMA Press Wire/IMAGO

In contrast, the majority of Palestinian Israeli citizens said they opposed the strikes and favored diplomacy over military action.

In Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, Ronny Arnon looked at the widespread damage in his neighborhood in disbelief. A missile breached the defense system and hit a building, killing one person.

“I am in the minority here, so many people are supportive,” Arnon told DW on Saturday at the start of the Israel-Iran conflict.

“Our prime minister is called the magician, because he knows how to make a show, how we are winning and beat all our enemies. We started a fire we don’t know how to end.”

A window of opportunity

One of the factors that paved the way for the attack was Israel’s systematic weakening of Iran’s regional proxies over the past months, analysts say.

During the last direct exchange of fire between Iran and Israel in October 2024, Israel claimed to have struck vital air defense systems, reducing Iran’s defense capabilities and creating an opportunity to attack.

In December, the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, another Iranian ally, was overthrown.

Israeli military officials told DW this provided Israel the aerial freedom of movement it needed and paved the way for its air force to strike Iran.

All eyes are now on US President Donald Trump, who is said to be considering whether the United States will engage alongside Israel in military action in Iran.

Israel’s attack on Iran: Dragging Trump into the conflict? To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Although Trump had advised Netanyahu against resorting to military action, he has since changed his tune. This is despite the fact that his administration had pursued negotiations with Iran, mediated by Oman, regarding Irannuclear program.

On Tuesday, Trump said that the US would not kill Ayatollah Khamenei “for now,” but demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender.”

“[Netanyahu] feels comfortable that he can also drag Trump into this war,” Eldar said. “And what will be remembered? Netanyahu will be the Israeli leader who saved us from another Holocaust,” referring to the stated goals of Iran’s leadership that Israel should be destroyed.

Hostages and the war in Gaza

But Israel also fighting on another front: The war in Gaza.

In Tel Aviv’s central Dizengoff Square on Wednesday, a small group of protesters held up large photos of the remaining Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Among them was the mother of Matan Angrest, a soldier who was taken hostage on October 7.

“When the war in Iran began, we were really afraid our precious one, my son, will be forgotten there in Gaza, his situation is bad, his life is in danger,” Anat Angrest told DW.

“But a few hours later, I got a lot of messages from many Israelis that they felt that with the success in Iran, this will help to bring [the hostages] back.”

Protesters in Tev Aviv call for the release of Israelis held kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza Image: Tania Krämer/DW

Angrest is critical of Netanyahu’s government for not doing enough to bring her son and the other hostages home sooner.

But she believes that a weakened Iran will lead to less support for Hamas and to the end of the war in Gaza.

“We hope that the decision to act now is connected to Gaza; that it is part of a strategic plan and that the Israeli government will finally be able to end the war in Gaza,” Angrest told DW.

“Because when we take out the leaders of the terrorists, Iran, we can finish what we started in Gaza, and we won’t be in danger anymore.”

Edited by: Sean Sinico

Israel strikes dozens of military targets in Iran

Iran ’SMASHES’ Israeli Military’s Intel Office In Tel Aviv; Big Attack After Beersheba Strikes

Poll Which measure is more effective in dealing with nuclear threats? Diplomatic engagement and global cooperation Targeted action to prevent escalation

How they conducted the strikes

Iran Flexes Missile Muscle As Ballistic Warheads ‘Breach’ Israel’s Defences; Tehran Calls Trump ‘Delusional’

Why SPND?

NEW DELHI: The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday conducted extensive overnight strikes on numerous military targets within Iran, including a significant attack on the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), an institution allegedly involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons development program.The conflict between Israel and Iran has now entered its second week, with European officials attempting diplomatic interventions to bring Tehran back to negotiations. US President Donald Trump has indicated that any decision regarding American involvement would be made within two weeks.Also read: Israel unleashes fresh strikes across Iran; nuclear facility among targets — 10 key developments The current escalation began last Friday when Israel initiated attacks on Iran, citing the need to prevent its long-standing adversary from developing nuclear weapons. Iran responded with retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israeli territory, while maintaining that its nuclear program serves peaceful purposes.The operation, involving more than 60 Air Force fighter jets and approximately 120 munitions, targeted dozens of strategic military locations across Iran, including the SPND.The strikes focused on several missile manufacturing facilities in the Tehran region, which the IDF described as “industrial centers of gravity” for Iran’s ministry of defence.The operation targeted sites responsible for producing missile components and raw materials used in rocket engine manufacturing. A key objective was the SPND headquarters building in Tehran, which was successfully struck during the operation.Also read: ‘Not asking for US green light’: Netanyahu says Israel will hit all nuclear sites in Iran; quiet on eliminating Khamenei “Among the sites attacked were military industrial sites for the production of missile components and sites for the production of raw materials used for casting rocket engines. As part of the attacks and as part of the IDF’s activities to damage the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons project, the IDF attacked the Spand headquarters building in Tehran,” the IDF said.The SPND headquarters holds particular significance as it serves as a crucial research and development center for advanced technologies and weapons supporting Iran’s military capabilities. The organisation was established in 2011 by Fakhri Zadeh, who is recognized as the architect of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.The IDF also confirmed striking a facility involved in producing essential components for Iran’s nuclear weapons program, though specific details were not disclosed for security reasons.”In addition, a site for the production of a component that is a necessary basis for the Iranian regime’s nuclear weapons program was attacked,” IDF said.Israeli air attacks have killed 639 people in Iran.

UN Security Council meets over Israel-Iran conflict

We’ve been telling you about the United Nations Security Council, which is holding a meeting in New York.

Representatives of countries are discussing the conflict between Israel and Iran, which is now in its eighth day.

You can watch along in the live stream below, and we’ll continue to bring you any key updates as they happen.

Skip next section IAEA says it can guarantee ‘watertight’ inspections for Iran

06/20/2025 June 20, 2025 IAEA says it can guarantee ‘watertight’ inspections for Iran

The UN nuclear watchdog’s chief pleaded on Friday for a diplomatic solution to end Israel’s strikes on Iran, in a United Nations Security Council session.

Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on nuclear facilities, calling for maximum restraint. He stressed that such attacks “could result in radioactive releases with great consequences within and beyond boundaries of the state which has been attacked.”

“The IAEA can guarantee through a watertight inspection system that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran,” Grossi said, amid efforts to de-escalate the conflict.

He particularly warned Israel against attacking the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran.

“Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns, and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity,” he said.