ISTANBUL

China on Wednesday reiterated its call for “security and stability” in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters, emphasizing the importance of the waterway for global cargo and energy trade.

“Safeguarding security and stability in this region is in the common interest of the international community,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing, according to state outlet the Global Times.

The statement from China came after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz has been closed to transit and warned that vessels attempting to cross would be attacked.

“The Strait of Hormuz has been closed. We will attack and set ablaze any ship attempting to cross,” said Brig. Gen. Ebrahim Jabbari, a senior adviser to the IRGC commander-in-chief.

Mao said: “China urges all parties to immediately cease military operations, avoid further escalation of tensions, prevent further turbulence, and avoid causing greater impacts on the global economy.”

The IRGC statement came amid ongoing hostilities as the US and Israel continue airstrikes on Iran that began last Saturday, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and 786 others, including scores of schoolgirls.

Tehran has responded with drone and missile attacks targeting US-linked sites in Gulf countries, causing multiple fatalities.

Six US service members have also been killed and many others injured.