China is closely following the development of situation in the Red Sea, and calls for respect for regional sovereignty and security, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Friday.
Lin made the comments while taking a media query on the Houthi group's "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and attacks on two Saudi oil tankers.
"China is closely following the development of situation in the Red Sea. We believe that the sovereignty and security of all countries in the region should be respected, and the safety and smooth operation of international shipping lanes should be jointly safeguarded. China calls on all the parties concerned to exercise restraint, continue to properly resolve differences and disagreements through dialogue and consultation, avoid actions that could further escalate tensions, and work toward the early restoration of peace and stability in the Gulf region," Lin said.
China urges restraint, dialogue amid tensions in Red Sea: spokesman
Iran's armed forces on Friday said it launched retaliatory drone strikes against multiple U.S. targets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
According to their statements, Iranian forces hit U.S. military equipment warehouse and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait.
Iran had also struck the U.S. Army's fuel depots, equipment warehouses and troop accommodation facilities at Shaikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, as well as aircraft hangars and troop accommodations at al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan.
Early Friday, the U.S. Central Command said in a post on the social media platform X that its forces had "successfully completed the 13th straight night of strikes against Iran".
It added that U.S. forces targeted "Iranian military command centers, drone storage facilities, communication networks, coastal surveillance sites, and maritime capabilities to further diminish the threat Iran poses to civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz".
Iran says launching retaliatory strikes against US targets in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan
