China's Wang Yi says attacks on Iran 'unacceptable', urges ceasefire and talks

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday that attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran during U.S.-Iran negotiations were "unacceptable", according to state news agency Xinhua. The foreign ministry said Chinese citizens have been injured in the attacks, and some of them have been stranded, warning Chinese nationals against travelling to the region altogether.

Wang said the "blatant killing of a sovereign leader" and the incitement of regime change were unacceptable, after Iran reported the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Saturday's barrage.

China is calling for an immediate cessation of military action, a return to dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, and joint opposition to unilateral actions, the minister said.

The United States and Israel launched their attacks early on Saturday, targeting Iran's military capability.

China's ministry on Saturday expressed concern over the strikes and called for an immediate ceasefire, urging all sides to avoid escalation and to resume dialogue and negotiation. It said Iran's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity should be respected.

On Sunday, China's embassy in Israel issued a notice advising Chinese citizens in Israel to evacuate to safer areas within the country as soon as possible or to leave for Egypt via the Taba border crossing.

China's foreign ministry on Sunday also urged Chinese citizens in Iran to leave "as soon as possible", listing four land routes to Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Iraq.

In a commentary on Sunday, China's state-run Xinhua news agency criticised the attack, calling it "brazen aggression against a sovereign nation" and "power politics and hegemony".

Xinhua said Washington's use of military coercion was a "flagrant violation" of the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and a departure from "fundamental norms of international relations".

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday slammed the United States and Israel's killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in as a "cynical violation" of morality and law.

Tehran has stood by as one of Russia's closest allies throughout Moscow's Ukraine offensive and the Kremlin had earlier called for restraint in the run-up to the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

On Sunday, the Kremlin published a letter that Putin sent to Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in which the Russian leader expressed his "deepest condolences for the assassination of" Khamenei.

He said the killing was "carried out in a cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law".

Putin said Khamenei "will be remembered as an outstanding statesman who made an enormous personal contribution to the development of friendly Russian-Iranian relations".

He asked Pezeshkian to "convey my most sincere sympathy and support to the relatives and loved ones of the Supreme Leader, to the government and to the entire people of Iran".

Russia on Saturday condemned the strikes on Iran as a "dangerous adventure" that could spark "catastrophe" in the region.

Also Saturday, Moscow's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov spoke by phone with Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, with the Russian ministry stressing that the call was held "at the initiative of the Iranian side".

In 2025, Russia and Iran signed a strategic partnership treaty aimed at strengthening ties -- including in military matters.

(Reuters and AFP)
(Updated at 9.15 pm)