China’s Defense Minister Endorses Iran’s ‘Legitimate’ Assault on Israel

China is leaving no room for doubt about its allegiances in the Middle East. Its initial response to the unprecedented direct Iranian assault on Israeli territory on April 19 was to applaud the move through Chinese Communist Party media organs. While Beijing then tried to position itself as an impartial broker, through a summary of a call between top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi and Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian after the attack, it’s making no secret of its total support for Iran’s position.

Chinese defense minister Dong Jun doubled down on his country’s endorsement of the Iranian drone and missile barrage during a meeting with Iranian defense minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani last week in Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. According to the Iranian state-owned PressTV outlet, Dong “slammed” Israel’s April 1 strike on an Iranian facility in Damascus and said that China supports “Iran’s legitimate right to respond to Israel.”

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Jimmy Quinn

Jimmy Quinn is the former national security correspondent for National Review.

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China is leaving no room for doubt about its allegiances in the Middle East. Its initial response to the unprecedented direct Iranian assault on Israeli territory on April 19 was to applaud the move through Chinese Communist Party media organs. While Beijing then tried to position itself as an impartial broker, through a summary of a call between top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi and Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian after the attack, it’s making no secret of its total support for Iran’s position.

Chinese defense minister Dong Jun doubled down on his country’s endorsement of the Iranian drone and missile barrage during a meeting with Iranian defense minister Mohammad-Reza Gharaei Ashtiani last week in Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of a gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. According to the Iranian state-owned PressTV outlet, Dong “slammed” Israel’s April 1 strike on an Iranian facility in Damascus and said that China supports “Iran’s legitimate right to respond to Israel.”