Middle East crisis: Blinken asks China to assert influence to dissuade Iran from striking Israel

In a bid to de-escalate tensions in the West Asian region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi and urged Beijing to assert its influence to dissuade Iran from launching an offensive against Israel.

Wang further urged the United States to play “a constructive role” in the Middle East during the telephonic conversation, the US State Department released a statement saying.

After the phone call, China said that Wang also expressed China's "condemnation" of the strike on an Iranian consulate building in Syria's Damascus.

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“China will continue to play a constructive role in the resolution of the Middle East issue… and contribute to cooling down the situation,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said as per The Times Of Israel report.

“The United States side in particular should play a constructive role.”

Blinken speaks to Turkish, Chinese, Saudi Arabian counterparts

Blinken also spoke to his Turkish, Chinese and Saudi Arabian counterparts emphasizing that escalation in the Middle East is not in anyone's interest, said the US State Department said on Thursday (Apr 11).

"He (Secretary of State Antony Blinken) talked to the Turkish foreign minister last night. He talked to Wang Yi this morning and then early this morning then talked to the Saudi foreign minister later this morning," said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a regular news briefing.

"We have been engaged in a series of contacts, not just to his level, but other levels, too, to talk to foreign counterparts, to send this very clear message to Iran that they should not escalate this conflict," he said.

Escalation of conflict in Middle East

This comes after the United States issued concerns saying that an Iranian attack on Israel is imminent. US-based media outlets claimed that the strike could involve high-precision missile and drone attacks at military and government sites in Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant also said on Thursday that Israel would respond directly to any attack by Iran. "A direct Iranian attack will require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran," Gallant told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, according to remarks issued by his office.

Tehran has already issued a warning as supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said this week that Israel "must be punished and it shall be" for attacking the Iranian embassy compound in Syria.

(With inputs from agencies)