Beijing [China], March 2 (ANI): China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Iranian counterpart on Monday that Beijing supports Tehran in defending itself against strikes by the United States and Israel, as the conflict in the Middle East widened further, Al Arabiya English reported.

According to Al Arabiya English, hundreds have been killed in Iran since Saturday, when the United States of America and Israel began striking dozens of targets inside the country. Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel, several Gulf states, and a British base in Cyprus.

Citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV, Al Arabiya English reported that Wang told Abbas Araghchi that Beijing 'cherishes the traditional friendship between China and Iran, supports Iran in defending its sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, and national dignity, and supports Iran in protecting its legitimate rights and interests.'

Wang also urged the US and Israel to halt military operations. China had 'urged the US and Israel to immediately cease military operations, avoid further escalation of tensions and prevent the conflict from spreading to the entire Middle East region,' he said, according to CCTV.

In a separate phone call with Oman's foreign minister, Badr Albusaidi, Wang accused the United States and Israel of 'violating the purposes and principles of the UN charter' by 'deliberately instigating a war against Iran'.'China is also willing to play a constructive role, including upholding justice, striving for peace, and stopping the war through the platform of the UN Security Council,' Wang told Albusaidi, as cited by CCTV.

According to Al Arabiya English, in another conversation with France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, Wang warned that the world risked a 'regression to the law of the jungle'.

'Major powers cannot arbitrarily attack other countries based on their military superiority,' Wang said, according to CCTV. He added that 'the Iranian nuclear issue must ultimately return to the track of political and diplomatic settlement.'

Meanwhile, four US military personnel have been killed in the fighting so far. US President Donald Trump has warned that the war with Iran could last for weeks, as reported by Al Arabiya English.

This came against the backdrop of coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes across multiple Iranian cities on February 28, targeting military command centres, air-defence systems, missile sites, and key regime infrastructure. These strikes resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and four senior military and security officials, with large explosions reported in Tehran and other major cities.

US President Donald Trump described the strikes as necessary to 'ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon'.

In response, Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles and drones at US assets and allies across the region, including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, further widening the conflict in the Middle East and heightening risks for civilians and expatriates alike. (ANI)