Israel attacks condemned at energy agency meeting

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, explained on Monday Beijing's position on Israel's attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Li stated that Israel's military actions in Iran had damaged Iranian nuclear facilities, caused casualties, undermined the political and diplomatic process of the Iranian nuclear issue, weakened efforts to uphold the international nuclear non-proliferation regime, and had a severely negative impact on regional peace, security, and stability.

He said China condemns Israel's military actions against Iran, opposes armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities, opposes violations of Iran's sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity, and rejects actions that escalate tensions or expand the conflict.

He also emphasized the fact that rising tensions in the Middle East serve no party's interests, and that innocent civilians should not have to bear another humanitarian catastrophe.

Li said China is deeply concerned about the current developments and their negative impact on the prospects for diplomatic negotiations.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his counterparts in Iran and Israel, calling on all parties to act with restraint and avoid taking steps that could lead to a cycle of escalating tensions," he said. "The international community should work together to de-escalate the situation and effectively prevent the conflict from expanding and spreading."

On various occasions, European politicians have also put pressure on official European Union agencies to condemn Israel.

Jan Oberg, co-founder of the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research think tank, said on X: "NATO/EU countries continue to support Israel's consistent violations of international law and the UN charter. Their take on Israel's indefensible, unprovoked attack on Iran speak volumes about their own selective criminality."

Marc Botenga, a member of the European Parliament from Belgium and a vice-president of The Left in the European Parliamentary party group, said during a parliamentary discussion that was video-recorded and posted on his X account: "I just requested, on behalf of The Left EU, that the European Parliament condemn the illegal Israeli attack on Iran. But the mainstream political parties refused.

"Israel illegally and criminally attacked Iran this weekend. Illegally, because you can't just attack another country, I know Israel is in the habit of doing it, but it is still illegal. Criminal because a lot of civilians, including children, were killed. And look at the power plants that were deliberately targeted, creating, this way, the risk of a nuclear catastrophe with mass civilian victims … (European Commission President) Ursula von der Leyen even insists on the right of Israel to defend itself, but to defend itself, they are the ones attacking … to transform Teheran into Gaza … We cannot just wait for them, not condemning these and supporting criminal actions."

The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a Washington-based think tank, listed the viewpoints of the German Foreign Ministry, France's president, and the European Commission on its official website, commenting: "This Orwellian rhetoric isn't just incompetence or ignorance. It's the culmination of years of European diplomatic malpractice that helped to manufacture this crisis – and exposed the 'rules-based order' as a corpse. Europe's double standards killed its credibility."

Xinhua contributed to this story.

zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn