ISTANBUL

China said Thursday that keeping the region “safe and stable” is in everyone’s interest following attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Keeping the region’s energy trade and broader area “safe and stable serves the common interests of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular news conference in Beijing.

China “urges parties to stop the military operations at once, avoid further escalation and prevent the regional turmoil from having a larger impact on global economic growth,” he said.

Asked whether Beijing was providing intelligence support to Iran, Guo said “China’s position is consistently clear,” reiterating the country’s call for a cessation of military operations.

Regional tensions escalated since Israel and the US launched joint strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, which have killed more than 1,200 people, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was the supreme leader, as well as over 150 schoolgirls.

Tehran retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and several Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

Iran also effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz around March 1. The strategic waterway normally handles about 20 million barrels of oil shipments daily and roughly 20% of the global liquefied natural gas trade. The move has already pushed oil prices above.