China Calls for 'Calm and Restraint' After U.S. Attacks on Iraq

China's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang Friday called for restraint from all the countries involved in the Middle East geopolitics after the U.S. killed Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis and Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike at Baghdad.

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"China has always opposed the use of force in international relations. We advocate that all sides should earnestly respect the goals and principles of the United Nations Charter and the basic norms of international relations," Geng said.

The Chinese official also stressed that the U.S. should stay calm on its relation to Iran and Iraq as peace and stability in the Middle East must be upheld.

"Iraq's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity should be respected. The stability and peace in the Middle East-Gulf region should be maintained."

On Thursday night the Pentagon acknowledged that the U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of General Soleimani.

This military action marked a dramatic escalation in the regional "shadow war" between Iran and the U.S. and its allies, principally Israel and Saudi Arabia.

This long-lasting conflict intensified sharply last week when the Iraqi population besieged the U.S.embassy in rejection of a U.S. air raid on the Kataib Hezbollah militia, founded by al-Muhandis.​​​​​​​

According to experts, the U.S. has created a muddle hard to solve in the Middle East. The Trump administration acted without thoroughly evaluating the consequences of the assassination of Soleimani and al-Muhandis, both of whom are seen by the population as champions in the fight against the Islamic State and not as figures who would resort to terrorism to confront Washington.

Their assassination will further question the future of the U.S. military occupation in Iraq, a country in which the Pentagon has remained since President Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003. 

The Trump-ordered killings also happen at a time when mass anti-government demonstrations demand radical reform of the U.S.-imposed political system in Iraq.​​​​​​​