The application of double standards by the United States is pushing the Middle East closer to a full-blown regional war, said Chinese experts when commenting on U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's repeated refusal to confirm reports of an Israeli attack on Iran Friday.
Earlier on Friday, Iran's air defense systems shot down several "flying objects" near the central city of Isfahan, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. The Israeli side has not yet made any announcement regarding the latest attack.
Blinken told a press conference in Italy on Friday that he cannot speak to media reports about the details of the Israeli attack against Iran overnight, stressing that the United States was not involved in any offensive operations by Israel.
However, media reports said that Washington received advance warning from Israel on Thursday of an imminent strike against Iran in retaliation for Iran's assault on Israel last weekend.
Late on April 13, Iran launched about 350 drones and missiles in response to the killing of seven Iranians, including two veteran commanders, by Israeli strikes on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria on April 1.
Five days later, the U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions on Iran over the weekend attack.
In separate exclusive interviews with China Central Television in Beijing, Chinese experts commented on the U.S. responses to the military conflicts in the Middle East, which they said has shamelessly exposed its hypocrisy and application of double standards.
"The U.S. and Israel share a common objective of suppressing Iran. In any confrontation between Israel and Iran, the U.S. will definitely side with Israel. However, there is a special situation at present, which is that the U.S. does not want to get involved in a war with Iran in the region, even a war between Israel and Iran, because the U.S must absolutely protect Israel. If Israel and Iran fall into war, the U.S. will inevitably be dragged into it," explained Li Shaoxian, head of an Arab research institute under Ningxia University.
"It (the U.S.) has always imposed double standards, and now it's pushing the Middle East into the abyss of war. This round of conflict between Iran and Israel, for example, was caused by Israel's bombing of the consular section of the Iranian embassy, which is a violation of international law. Instead of condemning Israel, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran. Another example is that Israel is creating a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, but the U.S did not make any condemnation. On the contrary, when Westerners were the victims, like the personnel of the World Central Kitchen died in the air strike, the U.S. expressed deep sorrow and distress. That illustrates the double standards of the United States. In such cases, the U.S. tends to either directly launch attacks on the countries involved or provide support to Israel in its military actions, thereby forming a cycle of war," added Dong Manyuan, a senior fellow on Middle East studies at China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).
Experts warn that U.S. double standards escalating Middle East tensions towards war
Experts warn that U.S. double standards escalating Middle East tensions towards war
