Iran is fully prepared for possible further attacks by Israel, but remains committed to pursue a diplomatic solution, said Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi in an interview with the China Media Group (CMG) aired on Friday.
In the interview, the Iranian foreign minister talked about the recent escalations in the Middle East, including the direct attacks between Israel and Iran.
Araghchi noted that while Iran is fully prepared for further conflict, the country remains committed to pursuing diplomacy and working with both regional and global partners, especially China, to prevent a large-scale war.
"We are fully prepared for the possibility of further attacks by Israel. I hope Israel will refrain from taking such reckless actions as it could lead to a large-scale war. Of course, we will continue to pursue a diplomatic approach, stay in contact with regional countries, and consult with friendly nations like China. We believe that reason will ultimately prevail and prevent actions that could have serious consequences," Araghchi said.
The Iranian Foreign Minister also mentioned his recent meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on Dec 28, 2024. At the meeting, the two sides agreed that the Middle East belongs to the people of the region, and it is not an arena for major-power rivalry.
"Unfortunately, the Middle East, or the West Asia region, has long been plagued by foreign interference. In fact, many of the region's problems and crises have been sparked by the interventions of outside powers. Even longer ago, European powers came to the Middle East and caused a lot of problems. Colonial powers arrived, igniting wars and crises. These foreign powers entered the region to pursue their own interests and maintain influence, stirring up tensions and conflicts from time to tim. Apart from conflict, tension, division and war, they offer nothing to the Middle East," Araghchi concluded.
Iran prepared for further conflict with Israel, but remains committed to diplomatic solution: FM
Iran prepared for further conflict with Israel, but remains committed to diplomatic solution: FM
The halting of Russian gas transit through Ukraine will result in a redoubling of efforts in Europe and Russia to find new supply routes, according to Chinese scholar of international relations.
Ukraine officially stopped the gas flow on Wednesday, following the expiration of a five-year agreement with Russia's gas giant Gazprom on Tuesday. This agreement, signed in December 2019, had allowed Russian gas to continue flowing to Europe through Ukrainian pipelines despite the conflict.
Zhang Xin, associate professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, East China Normal University, said that both sides of the trade relationship will face significant challenges as a result of the development.
"That has been anticipated for long, to essentially undermine Russia's ability to fund its military operation in Ukraine and limit Moscow's ability to use energy as a strategic leverage in Europe. And that's the main purpose. That kind of long term stable energy cooperation is part of economic interdependence between Russia and Europe has now come to an end, at least for the foreseeable future. So that's probably an even bigger loss for Russia as well as for Europe," Zhang said.
Following the halt of Ukraine transit, the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea has become the sole remaining route for transporting Russian gas to Europe.
The European Commission says the share of Russian pipeline gas in EU imports has plummeted from over 40 percent in 2021 to about 8 percent in 2023, with Norway and the United States emerging as the new top suppliers.
Amid concerns about supply shortages and soaring energy costs, Zhang predicts that countries will seek new ways to secure alternative transit and import routes for gas, continuing a trend that has emerged from the conflict.
"A larger implication for the geopolitics of energy for Russia, Europe, even for the global energy market probably consists of a few important trends in the foreseeable future. All major actors in Europe in Russia are going to intensify their efforts, double their efforts to look for alternative transit routes, import, export routes for gas as we've already seen in the past few years. But I think efforts along that line will be even intensified," Zhang said.
Ukraine's halting of gas transit impacts Russia's energy leverage on Europe: scholar
