While the United States has long been regarded as Israel's closest ally, moves by the Biden White House have prompted the Jewish state to seek help from China.
According to Breitbart, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen sought China's assistance in dealing with Iran during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.
Following the meeting, Cohen released a statement on Twitter in which he spoke of having encouraged efforts by China to oppose Iran's development of nuclear weapons.
שוחחתי היום עם שר החוץ הסיני צ׳ין גאנג. קראתי לו להפעיל את השפעתו על איראן כדי לעצור את התקדמות תכנית הגרעין, שמהווה סכנה למדינות רבות במזרח התיכון ובעולם. מדינת ישראל תפעל בכל דרך על מנת למנוע ממשטר הטרור בטהראן להשיג נשק גרעיני. pic.twitter.com/Ocg8qpoG06
— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) April 17, 2023
"I spoke today with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang," an English translation of Cohen's statement read. "I called on him to exert his influence on Iran to stop the progress of the nuclear program, which poses a danger to many countries in the Middle East and the world."
"The State of Israel will act in any way to prevent the terrorist regime in Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons," Cohen stressed.
Breitbart noted that for his part, Qin was quoted by China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency as saying China "is ready to provide convenience" for "peace talks" between Israel and the Palestinians.
"All parties should maintain calm and restraint, and stop excessive and provocative words and deeds," Qin continued, insisting that "the fundamental way out is to resume peace talks and implement the 'two-state solution.'"
Those developments came even as the Biden administration continues to try and resurrect the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which was canceled by former President Donald Trump.
As Fox News explained earlier this month, the JCPOA was an agreement negotiated by the Obama administration with Iran.
Under its provisions, Iran would be permitted to access up to $275 billion in financial benefits during its first year in effect and $1 trillion by 2030. Those benefits would come in exchange for Iran abandoning its nuclear weapons program.
However, Fox News noted that this past February, Iran was caught enriching uranium to 84% purity, which is just 6% short of what would be required to build a nuclear bomb.
Qin's meeting with Cohen was not China's only recent foray into the Middle East, as Breitbart reported in March that the Asian giant brokered a resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic ties after a negotiations in Beijing. The efforts made by the two countries and China in seeking peaceful settlements of disputes amid global growing uncertainties are praised.https://t.co/9BWw6Mk7H3 pic.twitter.com/QcosvIPnlN
— Chinese Embassy in Grenada (@ChinaEmbGrenada) March 10, 2023
