Beijing: China on Tuesday urged the US, Israel, and Iran to return to dialogue and end the conflict, a day after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington and Tehran were holding talks, a claim denied by the latter. 'The protracted war does not serve anyone's interests; a ceasefire and dialogue are the only way out,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

According to Anadolu Agency, Lin expressed China's 'grave concern' over the continued escalation and spillover of the current situation, which 'dealt a severe blow to global and regional peace and stability.' He called on relevant parties to immediately stop the fighting and return to peace and dialogue as soon as possible. On Monday, Trump announced a five-day halt on all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, citing 'very good and productive' talks with Tehran over the past two days, although Iranian officials rejected claims of talks, calling them "fake news."

Amid ongoing back-channel talks to ease the situation and bring warring parties to the table, sources in Pakistan's Foreign Ministry told Anadolu that a US delegation was due in Islamabad for Iran talks. However, they noted Tehran was not yet ready to hold talks with Washington due to mistrust. On US threats to hit Iranian energy sources, Tehran had warned it would 'increase' retaliation on the 'most important part of the electricity and water infrastructure of the Zionist entity (Israel) and the United States in the region.'

Regional escalation in the Middle East has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, resulting in over 1,340 casualties, including the then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with repeated drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military assets. The Strait of Hormuz has also been effectively disrupted since early March, with around 20 million barrels of oil normally passing through it daily. This disruption has driven up shipping costs and pushed global oil prices higher.