China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi has called for the sovereignty of Iran and all countries to be respected, demanding an “immediate stop to military operations” in the Middle East to prevent an escalation and avoid a spillover of the conflict.

Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of an important annual gathering in Beijing, Wang stressed that the people of the Middle East are the true masters of this region.

Urging non-interference in internal affairs, he said that the region’s affairs should be determined by the countries there independently.

“This is a war that should not have happened, and it is a war that does no one any good. Force provides no solution, and armed conflict will only increase hatred and breed new crises…

“A strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle.”
Wang Yi

Wang urged “all sides” to return to the negotiating table “as quickly as possible” to resolve differences through dialogue, and work to realise common security.

China, he added, stands ready to work with the regional countries to “restore order to the Middle East, calm to its people, and peace to the world.”

Wang’s remarks came as joint attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States continued for a ninth day today Sunday, March 8, 2026, killing more than 1,300 people in Iran and about 300 in Lebanon. About a dozen people have been killed in Israel, according to officials.

Thick smoke filled the sky over Tehran after Israeli air strikes hit Iran’s oil facilities for the first time since the war started, killing at least four people.

This comes as the US-Israel conflict with Iran has widened to include the Gulf region as well as Lebanon and Iraq.

The strikes on Saturday sparked large fires as they hit four oil storage facilities and an oil production transfer centre in Tehran and the province of Alborz, a news agency reported, with the Iranian state media describing it as an “attack from the US and the Zionist regime.”

The Aghdasieh oil warehouse in northeast Tehran, the Tehran refinery in the south, the Shahran oil depot in the west of Tehran, and an oil depot in Karaj city were the facilities targeted.

A news report disclosed that at least four tanker drivers were killed in the attacks in Tehran and Alborz. Despite the attack, the report said, “there is no shortage of fuel distribution” and security forces are “currently engaged in firefighting operations.”

Israel said that it struck a number of fuel storage facilities in Tehran” that were used “to operate military infrastructure.”

Iran has said that the US will pay for waging war and continued its retaliatory strikes on Israel and US military assets in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, despite Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian promising on Saturday to halt attacks on Gulf states as long as their territories were not used to attack Iran.

China Warns Against Government Change In Iran

Moreover, China warned against seeking government change in Iran amid the ongoing US-Israeli offensive, saying any such move lacks public support. “Plotting a ‘colour’ revolution or seeking government change will find no popular support,” Wang noted.

According to a classified US National Intelligence Council report, even a large-scale US military offensive would be unlikely to overthrow Iran’s military and clerical power structure

The report – published on Saturday by The Washington Post, citing three sources familiar with the classified document – undercuts US President Donald Trump’s assertion that he could “clean out” Iran’s leadership and install a preferred successor, indicating that such an outcome would be far from certain.

Meanwhile, senior religious leaders have signalled that Iran’s government may soon announce a new leader as hardliners and sidelined reformists deliberate their futures amid the quickly escalating United States-Israeli war on Iran.

Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri, a top figure in the 88-member Assembly of Experts, which will appoint the new Supreme Leader after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in Tehran on February 28, said that the choice had to be made with care so it would be indisputable internally.

The ⁠Israeli ⁠military, meanwhile, warned it would pursue every person in the Assembly of Experts who ⁠seeks to appoint ⁠a successor for Khamenei.

The Israeli military said in Persian in a post on X, “We warn all those who intend to participate in the successor selection meeting that we will not hesitate to target you either,” adding, “This is a warning!”