U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States could intensify its strikes on Iran following U.S. midterm elections, according to U.S. media reports on Thursday.
In an interview with Time magazine, published on Thursday, Trump said it was "possible" that the U.S. could increase its bombing campaign against Iran after the midterm elections.
Trump also said that he had rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said on Wednesday that if a deal with Iran cannot be reached, a military strike might be launched, and the time for making a decision is drawing near.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Wednesday that if the United States acted in its own interests, it would halt military strikes against Iran. Naqdi said that events over the past seven months have demonstrated the failure of U.S. actions against Iran.
Trump raises possibility of bombing Iran after US midterm elections
The incident in which a Japan Self-Defense Forces officer trespassed into the Chinese Embassy in Japan with a knife constituted a serious violation of China's sovereignty and dignity, said an embassy spokesperson.
On March 24, Kodai Murata, then an active-duty second lieutenant in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF), allegedly scaled a barbed-wire wall and broke into the Chinese embassy in Tokyo carrying a knife. He threatened to kill Chinese diplomatic personnel and was later arrested by the police.
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday held the first hearing in open court of Murata's trial.
The embassy spokesperson said that this egregious incident constituted a serious violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, a grave infringement on China's sovereignty and dignity, and a severe threat to the personal safety of Chinese diplomatic personnel and the security of diplomatic premises.
It also exposed numerous deep-seated issues, such as the rampant nature of right-wing forces in Japan and the lack of proper supervision and discipline regarding Self-Defense Forces personnel, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said that facts are clear concerning the case, and the evidence is irrefutable, leaving no room for denial.
China and the international community are watching closely to see how Japan handles the matter. China urges Japan to show the proper attitude, severely punish the intruder, conduct a thorough investigation and implement corrective measures, and provide a responsible account of the incident, said the spokesperson.
Intrusion of Chinese Embassy in Japan violates China's sovereignty: spokesperson
