'Military means cannot resolve any issue': China's retort to Trump on blasting Iran back to 'stone age' remark
Military means cannot fundamentally solve any issue, and escalation of the conflict does not serve any party's interest, China's Foreign Ministry said in response to latest threats to Iran.
China has strongly reacted to Donald Trump's "send Iran back to the Stone Age" remark, stating that military means and escalating the conflict will not serve any interest, amid concerns of an escalation in West Asia.
"Military means cannot fundamentally solve any issue, and escalation of the conflict does not serve any party's interest," Chinese Foreign Ministry Mao Ning said on Thursday.
The response followed remarks by Donald Trump, who said the United States would “hit Iran extremely hard over the next two to three weeks”, raising fears of further escalation in West Asia.
Trump's Stone Age threat to Iran
In his address to the nation, Trump warned that Iran could face intensified military action in the coming weeks, stating that Washington’s campaign was “on the cusp” of ending what he described as Tehran’s “sinister threat” to the US and the wider world.
He said the strikes would continue alongside ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a deal to end the conflict, which has now lasted for more than a month.
"We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We are going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong. In the meantime, discussions are ongoing,” Trump said.
He also claimed that a “regime change” had effectively taken place in Tehran as a result of joint US and Israel military operations, though he clarified that such an outcome was not an official objective.
“Regime change was not our goal. We never said regime change, but it has occurred because many of their original leaders are now dead,” he said.
Trump added that military operations would continue until all US objectives are met, asserting that the campaign was nearing completion.
“We will continue until our objectives are fully achieved. Based on the progress so far, we are on track to complete all of America’s objectives very shortly,” he said.
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