China stated on Monday that Iran’s appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader after the death of his father was an internal matter, stressing that it opposes any effort to target him.
Israel’s military has threatened to target any successor to former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Israel’s military has since indicated that it could also target any successor to the late leader.
Earlier, U.S. President dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight”, insisting that he should have a role in choosing Iran’s next leader.
Responding to questions about the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson told reporters that Iran’s choice of a new leader was made “based on its constitution”.
“China opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs under any pretext, and Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity should be respected,” he said when asked about the threats against the new leader.
Meanwhile, military confrontations between Israel and the United States on one side and Iran on the other have continued in recent days. Tehran has retaliated with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and Gulf nations hosting American military forces.
Beijing, a close partner of Tehran, earlier condemned the killing of the former Iranian leader but also criticised Iranian attacks on Gulf states.
China’s special envoy to the Middle East, , called for calm during a meeting with , the foreign minister of , on Sunday.
“China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations, prevent further escalation of tensions, and avoid causing greater harm to the people of regional countries,” Zhai Jun told his counterpart.
On Sunday, China’s Foreign Minister also criticised the conflict, saying the war “should never have happened” and calling for an immediate end to the fighting.
The ongoing conflict has raised concerns about global energy security and international trade, as well as the stability of China’s oil supply.
According to data from analytics firm , more than 80 percent of Iran’s oil exports last year were shipped to China. However, this represented about 13 percent of China’s total seaborne crude imports.
The data also showed that over half of China’s seaborne oil imports in the past year came from the broader Middle East, making the country highly reliant on shipments passing through the .