China stands ready to maintain communication with all parties to safeguard global energy security, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.
Lin called for efforts to prevent regional turbulence from negatively impacting world economy in response to a query about the Middle East situation.
"Affected by the situation in the Middle East, the global energy market is facing supply shortages, impacting many countries. To fundamentally resolve the issue, the key lies in making every effort to prevent the resumption of hostilities, promote a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire, and prevent further turbulence in the regional situation from causing greater harm to global economic development. China is willing to continue communication with all parties to jointly safeguard global energy security and the stability of production and supply chains," said Lin.
China to work with all sides to safeguard global energy security: FM spokesman
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the "Pentagon is lying" about the cost of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran launched on February 28.
In a post on X, Araghchi said that "Netanyahu's gamble has directly cost America 100 billion U.S. dollars so far, four times what is claimed."
"Indirect costs for U.S. taxpayers are far higher. Monthly bill for each American household is 500 U.S. dollars and rising fast," he added.
Citing three people familiar with the matter, CNN reported on Friday that the 25-billion-U.S.-dollar estimate "that a top Pentagon official gave to lawmakers on Wednesday for the total cost to date of the Iran war is a lowball figure," which "does not include the cost of repairing extensive damage suffered by U.S. bases in the region."
One source said the real cost estimate is closer to 40-50 billion U.S. dollars "when accounting for the costs of rebuilding U.S. military installations and replacing destroyed assets."
Iranian FM says 'Pentagon is lying' about cost of US-Israel war on Iran
