Wang talks to Araghchi, urges all sides to seize ‘every opportunity for peace’
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a meeting of foreign ministers of the BRICS group of nations in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia June 10, 2024. PHOTO:REUTERS
BEIJING/WASHINGTON:
Diplomatic efforts intensified on Tuesday as major global and regional players pushed for a quick return to talks amid the escalating war between the US, Israel and Iran, which has drawn in several countries in the Middle East.
China led renewed calls for de-escalation after Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, urging all parties to seize “every opportunity and window for peace” and start talks as soon as possible.
According to China’s Foreign Ministry, Wang told Araghchi that “talking is always better than fighting” and stressed that “all hotspot issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, not by using force.”
The call, held at Iran’s request, underscored Beijing’s continued push for diplomacy, with Wang reiterating that peace talks should begin “as soon as possible.” In response, Araghchi confirmed that Iran is seeking a comprehensive end to the conflict rather than a temporary ceasefire.
Araghchi also thanked China for humanitarian assistance. He stressed that vessels could pass through the Strait of Hormuz, except those belonging to “countries that are currently in conflict” with Iran.
Parallel diplomatic efforts across the region and beyond were also reported. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held discussions with US envoy Steve Witkoff about “potential negotiations” between Washington and Tehran.
Abdelatty also spoke with colleagues from Turkey, Pakistan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France and Cyprus, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. Officials described the diplomatic route as the only way to avert widespread chaos in the region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also warned that Israel’s “uncompromising, maximalist, radical stance” risked undermining diplomacy and insisted the war must end through serious negotiations.
The flurry of diplomatic activity came a day after US President Donald Trump delayed strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure following extensive negotiations. US media reported that the back-channel negotiations involved Pakistan, Turkiye and Egypt.
In Washington on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that speculation about talks should not be treated as final until they are formally announced, saying the US would not negotiate through the press.
Trump, meanwhile, told reporters in the Oval Office that his administration was talking to the “right people” in Iran and claimed Tehran was eager to reach a deal, although Iran has repeatedly denied any talks are taking place.
Despite conflicting accounts, Trump maintained that there were ongoing discussions, saying “we’re actually talking to the right people and they’re so eager to make a deal,” while also suggesting that Iran’s leadership structure was fractured.
He expressed optimism that a deal is in sight, saying Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others are leading the talks. “We’re in negotiations right now. They’re doing it with Marco, JD, with a number of people doing it.”
Speaking about the negotiating points, he said it suggested Iran’s nuclear program was top of the agenda. “They cannot have a nuclear weapon and they must not have a nuclear weapon. I don’t want to say it in advance, but they have agreed that they will never have a nuclear weapon.”
However, Iran strongly rejected claims of talks, with its parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accusing Washington of trying to manipulate the financial and oil markets, which have come under severe pressure since US-Israeli attacks on Iran began on February 28.
Since then, Iran has also launched retaliatory strikes on countries that host US bases, hitting Gulf infrastructure and effectively disrupting movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for about a fifth of global shipments of crude oil and liquefied natural gas.
While diplomatic exchanges continued, conflict on the ground continued with intensified attacks across Iran, Israel and several regional states as Iran reportedly carried out missile and drone strikes across the Gulf region.
Authorities in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates confirmed that an attack resulted in the killing of a Moroccan civilian contractor with the UAE Armed Forces in Bahrain, along with injuries to five defense personnel. Bahrain said the contractor was killed while responding to Iranian strikes.
The conflict has also disrupted infrastructure beyond the battlefield. Amazon Web Services reported that its data center operations in Bahrain were affected by drone activity, marking the second disruption of its Middle East cloud services since the conflict began.
In Iraq, US-Israeli airstrikes hit a military headquarters of an Iran-backed umbrella group in western Iraq, killing at least 15 people. Meanwhile, a missile attack attributed to Iran on a Peshmerga base in Irbil killed six people and wounded around 30 others.
Israel reported several waves of incoming missiles from Iran, with emergency services confirming at least three injuries in southern Israel, including a moderate case involving a 40-year-old man and minor injuries to a woman and an infant.
Israeli authorities also reported repeated missile waves throughout the day, with sirens sounding in both northern and southern regions, and damage recorded to residential structures in Bedouin communities lacking bomb shelters.
In Tel Aviv, police confirmed that damage to central areas was caused by an Iranian warhead with about 100 kg of explosives, which damaged homes and vehicles but did not result in serious injuries.
Iran has declared that its armed forces will continue to fight “until complete victory”, signaling no immediate intention to scale back operations. A senior Iranian military commander said the country’s forces remained “proud, victorious and steadfast”.
Iran, meanwhile, named a former head of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as the new secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an airstrike.
At the same time, Iran has reportedly expanded control measures around maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, introducing a “pay-to-pass” corridor between Larak and the Qeshm Islands. A Chinese-owned cargo ship was the first to pass through the corridor.
As the war continues across multiple fronts, the toll has risen dramatically, with reports indicating more than 1,500 deaths in Iran, over 1,000 in Lebanon, 16 in Israel and 13 US military personnel.
