of Western financial systems.
Beijing, the main buyer of Iran’s oil, had repeatedly stressed the need to restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, but has largely refrained from directly challenging Tehran’s threats to shipping.
‘The current situation once again demonstrates that the existing security architecture in the Middle East is inadequate and needs to be reformed and strengthened,’ Wang said in the talks with Araghchi.
China stands ready to promote peace, fairness and justice in the region, and its policy toward Iran has remained consistent and stable, he added.
Damage to US bases A destroyed aircraft, shredded tents, trailers that have been ripped apart: images taken by US troops show significant damage from Iranian strikes targeting American military assets in the Middle East, CBS News reported on Tuesday.
The undated images were taken at a base in Saudi Arabia and two facilities in Kuwait, according to CBS.
‘This is major damage to our bases that hasn’t been communicated to the American public,’ CBS quoted one US service member as saying.
‘We’re standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face,’ the service member added.
The Pentagon’s inspector general released a report earlier this week that said the military’s Central Command (Centcom), which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, had reported widespread damage to American facilities and equipment.
Centcom said Iranian strikes ‘damaged and destroyed hundreds of buildings and structures at US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Jordan’, the report said.
The Defence Department estimated the cost of the war at $33.4 billion as of June 29, but that figure ‘does not include costs for infrastructure repairs’, according to the report.-Agencies