BEIJING: Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Guo Jiakun condemned US President Donald Trump’s threat against Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
“We have noted relevant reports. It is a decision made by the Iranian side in accordance with the country’s Constitution,” Guo stated during a press briefing in Beijing on Monday.
“China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext. Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected,” Guo continued, urging involved parties to seek diplomatic efforts and halt the fighting.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts for Leadership announced Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader on Sunday. The decision comes amid repeated threats from Trump that the next Iranian leader would not ‘last long’ if elected without US approval.
In November 2019, the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the 56-year-old as part of a group of individuals who are appointees of or have acted for or on behalf of’ the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
On February 28, his father was killed in a joint airstrike by the United States and Israel.
During the presser, Guo warned Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna of his ‘irresponsible remarks’, who claimed on Thursday that most of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s allies were either ‘likely in hell’ or ‘in prison’.
“China has all along developed friendly cooperative relations with all countries in the world, including Russia, under the principles of mutual respect, equality, and mutual benefit,” Guo retaliated.
The spokesperson also voiced Beijing’s firm opposition to ‘despicable’ actions by Taiwanese ‘separatists’, after the territory’s premier Cho Jung-tai visited Japan and attended a World Basketball Classic game between Taiwan and the Czech Republic in Tokyo.
The China-Japan ties turned sour after PM Sanae Takaichi said in November that any crisis in the Taiwan Strait could justify Japan using collective self‑defence. China called it a direct challenge to the country’s sovereignty and warned Japan against reviving militarism.
Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory under the ‘One China’ principle, while the island has never officially declared independence.
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