The West urges China to intervene with Iran amid fears of a direct attack on Israel

• Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran from escalating tensions in the Middle East with a direct retaliatory strike against Israel.
• Tensions spiked at the start of this month when seven Iranian military advisers were killed in a strike on Iran's consulate in Damascus. Israel has not declared responsibility.
• On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel "should be punished and will be punished" for the Damascus killings.

Western diplomats have mounted pressure on China to prevent Iran from escalating tensions in the Middle East with a direct retaliatory strike against Israel.

U.S. Secretary Antony Blinken earlier this week spoke with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other counterparts in Turkey and Saudi Arabia amid rising fears of retaliation by Tehran against Israel.

Blinken asked the foreign ministers to "make clear that escalation is not in anyone's interest, and that countries should urge Iran not to escalate," U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said Thursday.

"We have also engaged with European allies and partners over the past few days and urged them as well to send a clear message to Iran that escalation is not in Iran's interest, it's not in the region's interest, and it's not in the world's interest."

Germany, whose Chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting China next week, has also been in contact with Beijing over the issue of Iran, where China has influence, according to a Reuters report on Friday citing German officials.

U.S. and European officials are treading a fine line with China, denouncing the country as a trade risk while also urging it to use its considerable diplomatic sway with countries isolated by Western sanctions.

Beijing is a