China says 'glimmer of hope' on Iran war talks

BEIJING: China’s top diplomat has said that a “glimmer of hope” for peace has emerged due to moves to stop the war in the Middle East, despite Tehran vowing to keep fighting.

The White House has warned that US President Donald Trump is ready to “unleash hell” if Iran does not accept a peace plan to end the war, but Tehran insisted it will not negotiate.

The ramped-up messages dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation, with violence on the ground showing no sign of abating after almost four weeks.

China’s foreign minister Wang Yi urged dialogue in separate calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, suggesting that both Tehran and Washington had shown signals they were willing to return to the negotiating table.

“With both the United States and Iran signalling a willingness to negotiate, a glimmer of hope for peace has emerged,” Wang told Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, according to a Beijing readout published late Wednesday.

The statement came hours before Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that “so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled”.

“Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat,” he added.

Trump insisted on Wednesday that Iran was taking part in peace talks, suggesting Tehran’s denials were because Iranian negotiators fear being killed by their own side.

“They are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly. But they’re afraid to say it, because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people,” Trump told a dinner for Republican members of Congress.

Wang told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during the call that the rights and wrongs of the conflict in the Middle East are “crystal clear”, offering support to the country in helping to facilitate the resumption of negotiations.

Turkey has engaged in “intense” diplomatic efforts to end the war by talking to both Washington and Tehran, Fidan said in March.

“Prolonging this war would only result in further casualties and needless losses, leading to a further spillover of the conflict,” Wang said.