“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

But Israel’s war in Gaza has divided the E3 over their approach to Israel, weakening European foreign policy unity further, although all want to avoid another war on Europe’s doorstep. The E3 positions on Israel have diverged since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023.

China hosted a summit for African leaders last week while the Trump administration weighed adding two dozen more African countries to its travel ban list.

Mystery transport planes from China to Iran detected on FlightRadar24 have sparked speculation about China supporting its ally as tensions escalate between Iran and Israel.

After Iran launched missiles at Israel in retaliation for strikes on nuclear and military facilities, a video has circulated in social media posts falsely claiming it shows a fire that broke out at an Israeli base after Iran's attack.

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Oil prices slipped on Friday as the U.S. imposed new Iran-related sanctions marking a diplomatic approach that fed hopes of a negotiated agreement, a day after President Donald Trump said he might take two weeks to decide U.

During Friday’s Asian trading session, oil prices took a notable downturn, giving back some of their recent gains after the White House revealed that President Donald Trump would delay a decision on intervening in the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel by two more weeks.

Asia stock markets mostly rise on Friday, buoyed by relief that an immediate U.S. strike on Iran seemed to have been averted, with President Trump expected to decide within two weeks. Israel and Iran continued trading attacks,