Israel's attack on Iran may worsen regional situation: experts

China

Israel's attack on Iran may worsen regional situation: experts

2024-10-28 10:24 Last Updated At：15:07

Israel's latest strikes on Iran may worsen the regional situation and trigger a full-scale war in the Middle East, said several Lebanese political and military experts.

Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran early Saturday, which killed at least four soldiers in the country. According to Iran's Fars News Agency, preliminary investigations showed that military bases in western and southwestern Tehran had been attacked by Israel.

Saturday's Israeli attack came in response to Iran's missile strike on October 1, itself a retaliation for the killing of Iran-backed militant leaders and a Revolutionary Guards commander.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said early on Saturday that Israel had completed what it called retaliatory "precise and targeted" airstrikes on military targets in Iran earlier in the day.

"Israel's strikes were carefully planned by the United States. The U.S. hopes from the beginning that Israel would avoid attacking Iran's oil facilities and avoid exacerbating the global oil crisis and rising oil prices. The U.S. also hopes to avoid attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel's strikes were limited to Iran's military facilities. Seeing from the reactions of both Israel and Iran, the effect of this round of attacks was minimal," said Hassan Qabalan, a Lebanese expert on regional affairs, in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).

"The strikes this time was done entirely under the direction of the United States, which shows that the United States, not Israel, has the final say on regional issues. It is different from the issues concerning Lebanon and Palestine," he added.

According to the Iranian government, the domestic situation is normal and the damage was limited.

"If Iran finds that the damage is serious, then it may consider retaliation. However, if, as the current situation shows, there is no huge damage, then this attack is more like a bluffing action. In this situation, Iran may choose to refrain from taking retaliatory actions," said Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese Major General and a military expert, political commentator, and researcher.

This round of attacks was the first time Israel has openly and directly launched an attack on Iranian territory.

Xi'an operates over 4,000 China-Europe train trips in Jan-Sept period

2024-10-28 14:05 Last Updated At：14:37

The number of China-Europe freight train trips operated by Xi'an, capital city of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, topped 4,000 in the first three quarters of 2024, surpassing one fourth of the country's total.

In the first three quarters of the year, China-Europe freight train trips totaled 14,689, with the number of routes rising to 93.

Xi'an sent 4,041 China-Europe freight train trips in the first nine months of this year, up 33.4 percent year on year.

Zhou Junxi, the yardmaster of the port station, organized the first China-Europe freight train of Shaanxi in the autumn of 2013.

"We started the first freight train in 2013, and it took seven years for us to operate 4,000 train trips. But this year, we have completed 4,000 trips over only nine months," said Zhou.

Xi'an is also the home port for the Chine-Europe train service line with the highest frequencies nationwide. The freight trains, set out from Xi'an and bound for Duisburg in Germany, which used to operate two departures and one return per week, now have four departures and three returns, making it the most densely operated full-route timetable service.