No popular support’: China warns against government change in Iran

China has 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,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a news conference on the sidelines of an important annual gathering in Beijing, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

Wang also called for the sovereignty of Iran and all countries to be respected, and demanded an “immediate stop to military operations” in the Middle East to prevent an escalation and avoid a spillover of the conflict.

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

The people of the Middle East are the true masters of this region, and the region’s affairs should be determined by the countries there independently, he said, urging noninterference in internal affairs.

“A strong fist does not mean strong reason. The world cannot return to the law of the jungle,” he told reporters.

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”.

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

Beijing has condemned the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Wang also maintained that China’s relations with Russia, which has been criticised by the West for sustaining the war in Ukraine, remained “steadfast and unshakeable”.