China on Monday described Iran’s decision to appoint Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader following the killing of his father as an internal affair, while warning against any move to target him.
Israel’s military had earlier threatened to strike any successor to former Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was reportedly killed during the first wave of coordinated strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump previously dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight” and maintained that Washington should have a role in deciding Iran’s next leader.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Iran’s decision to elevate the younger Khamenei was taken “based on its constitution.”
“China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext, and Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected,” he said while responding to questions about threats directed at the new Iranian leader.
In recent days, Israel and the United States have intensified their military campaign against Iran, while Tehran has retaliated with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting American military forces.
Beijing, a close partner of Tehran, earlier condemned the killing of the elder Khamenei. However, it has also criticised Iran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf states.
China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, called for calm during talks with Faisal bin Farhan in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
“China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations, prevent further escalation of tensions, and avoid causing greater harm to the people of regional countries,” Zhai Jun told his counterpart.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi also said on Sunday that the war “should never have happened” and appealed for an immediate halt to the fighting.
The ongoing conflict has raised concerns over global energy security and trade routes, as well as China’s oil supply.
According to analytics firm Kpler, more than 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports last year were shipped to China.
Despite this, the figure represented only about 13 percent of China’s total seaborne crude oil imports, the data showed.
However, Kpler noted that more than half of China’s overall seaborne crude imports originate from the wider Middle East, making the country heavily reliant on shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
