China to play peacemaker role in Iran war

BEIJING, Apr 01 (BBC/AFP): As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world's energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker.
It comes as President Donald Trump says US military action in Iran could end in "two to three weeks", but there is no clear sense yet of how that will happen or what comes after.
China joins Pakistan, which has emerged as an unlikely mediator in the US-Israel war against Iran. Officials in Beijing and Islamabad have presented a five-point plan with the aim of bringing about a ceasefire and re-opening the vital Strait of Hormuz.
Pakistan, which has been a US ally in the past, seems to have won over Trump to mediate this conflict. Beijing, however, is entering the fray as a rival to Washington, ahead of crucial trade talks between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Trump next month.
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper will host the discussions, Starmer told reporters during a Downing Street press conference, without specifying the day of the talks.
The meeting will "assess all viable diplomatic and political measures that we can take to restore freedom of navigation, guarantee the safety of trapped ships and seafarers and resume the movement of vital commodities", Starmer said.
"Following that meeting, we will also convene our military planners to look at how we can marshal our capabilities and make the strait accessible and safe after the fighting has stopped," he added.
The discussions will include countries who recently signed a statement saying they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", Starmer said.
Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands are among those to have signed it.
Houthis claim third missile
attack targeting Israel
Yemen's Houthis on Wednesday claimed a missile attack targeting Israel that they said was launched jointly with their backer Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah group-the third such attack by the Houthis since they entered the Middle East war.
The Houthis "carried out the third military operation... targeting sensitive Israeli enemy targets... with a barrage of ballistic missiles", military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.
"This operation was conducted jointly with our mujahideen brothers in Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon," he added.
Israeli strikes on
Beirut area kill 7
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and a nearby town killed at least seven people, as Israel's military said it had targeted senior Hezbollah members.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war on March 2 when Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel to avenge the killing of Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel has responded with broad strikes across Lebanon and a ground offensive.
The health ministry said an Israeli raid early Wednesday in the Jnah area, which borders Hezbollah's stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut, killed at least five people and wounded 21 others.
A Lebanese security source said four cars parked on a street were targeted.
An AFP correspondent at the scene shortly after the attack saw the remains of a car and firefighters battling a blaze in the dark of night.
The sound of several large explosions had been heard across the city, and a column of smoke was seen rising from the Jnah area, which is home to apartment buildings, cafes and shops.