Due care and attention to all parties' concerns key to peace and stability in the Middle East

This photo taken by a mobile phone shows smoke rising after an airstrike in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 15, 2025. The US warplanes on Saturday night launched airstrikes on several Houthi sites in Yemen's capital Sanna and the northern province of Saada, killing at least 13, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is an editorial from China Daily.

Although the US president said the series of air strikes on the Houthi-held areas in Yemen on Saturday were to protect US shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore navigational freedom, there should be no doubt the move aims to exert pressure on Iran, the backer of the Houthis.

The United States' air strikes, which continued on Sunday, came one day after the Houthis issued a four-day ultimatum to Israel, saying they would resume attacks on Israeli ships in the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and nearby waters unless Israel allowed humanitarian aid into the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The US' attacks essentially serve to ease the pressure on Israel that is engaged in ceasefire talks with Hamas, another Iran-backed militant group.

Compared with the Iran-backed Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, the Houthi targets are about 2,000 kilometers away from Israel, making the militant group, which can easily attack Israeli ships sailing in the Red Sea, a thorn in Tel Aviv's side. To take the initiative in the Gaza ceasefire talks, Israel has to rely on the US' assistance to at least prevent the Houthis from trying to lend a hand to Hamas.

The US leader also took the air strikes he ordered to be launched on Saturday as an opportunity to warn Iran to stop supporting the Houthis, promising to hold the country "fully accountable" for the actions of its proxy, two weeks after he sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran's advancing nuclear program.

Tel Aviv has long regarded Iran's nuclear program its largest security threat, and has thus been pushing the US and other Western allies to try and neutralize it.

But considering such broad-based missile strikes against the Houthis were carried out multiple times by the previous US administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region, if not at the call of Israel, to what extent the latest US air strikes can have their intended effects remains unclear.

The situations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria are all at a crossroad now and instead of threats from any party the focus should be on dialogue and negotiations, as the Middle East crisis cannot and should not be resolved by force.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi put forward China's five-point proposition on the proper settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue in his meeting with visiting Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey Alexeevich in Beijing on Friday, before the US' air strikes on the Houthis, in which China calls for all parties to actively work to create conditions conducive for dialogue and negotiation, and refrain from actions that might escalate the situation.

As Wang said, there are already enough problems in the Middle East. All parties should focus on the Palestine-Israel issue and find a resolution to this historical injustice that has been delayed since World War II, rather than creating new tensions or crises.

The US should respect Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and return to the Iranian nuclear talks at an early date. The framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action should be the basis for a new consensus built through consultation on the foundation of political sincerity.

With that in mind, parties should think twice before initiating the emergency brake built into JCPOA — the so-called snapback provision that allows for any participant state to trigger the swift reimposition of United Nations sanctions against Iran, as doing so will only worsen the situation and escalate tensions.

Acting from a position of strength to try and bully Iran into submission will be counterproductive. Upholding the principle of mutual respect is the only viable path to finding the greatest common ground that accommodates the legitimate concerns of all parties and enables the region to move on from the turmoil that has convulsed it for decades.