Chinese foreign minister voices readiness to work with Bahrain to push for ceasefire, restore peace

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Thursday that China stands ready to work with Bahrain to push for ceasefire, restore peace and achieve lasting stability in the Middle East.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a phone conversation with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani at the latter's request.

Zayani, current chair of the Ministerial Council of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council which also includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates besides Bahrain, briefed Wang on the latest developments in the Middle East and Bahrain's position, noting that the Gulf countries currently face severe security challenges and that shipping passage in the Strait of Hormuz has been obstructed.

He expressed Bahrain's readiness to leverage the United Nations Security Council to play a role in resolving the issue of shipping passage through the Strait, voicing the hope for strengthening communication and coordination with China.

Wang made clear China's principled stance of opposing aggression and advocating peace.

He recalled that China and Pakistan recently issued a five-point initiative to restore peace and stability in the Gulf and the Middle East, which includes calls for an end to attacks on civilians and non-military targets, ensuring the security of the Strait of Hormuz, and restoring normal shipping passage.

A ceasefire and the cessation of hostilities are a common aspiration of the international community, Wang said, adding that actions by the UN Security Council should help ease tensions and bring the war to an end to resume talks, rather than endorsing illegal acts of war, let alone adding fuel to the fire.

As a permanent member of the Security Council and a responsible major country, China stands ready to work with Bahrain to push for the cessation of hostilities, restore peace, achieve lasting stability in the region, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Global South, especially small and medium-sized countries.

Chinese foreign minister voices readiness to work with Bahrain to push for ceasefire, restore peace

The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.

"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.

Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.

Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.

"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.

The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."

The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.

U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official