JAKARTA - China evacuated more than 3,000 of its citizens from Iran between the outbreak of hostilities and March 2, its foreign ministry confirmed March 3, as Beijing sharply condemned the US-Israeli military operation on Tehran.

In a press release published for the media, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning confirmed the evacuation figure at a regular press conference in Beijing, responding to a question from AFP. 

“From the time when the security situation in Iran turned tense to March 2, over 3,000 Chinese citizens have been evacuated from Iran,” she said. Working groups from Chinese diplomatic missions in Iran's neighbouring countries were also continuing to receive and assist evacuees at border crossings, she added. 

One Chinese national has been confirmed killed in Tehran, and Mao said the ministry had not received information on other Chinese citizens affected by the conflict.

On the broader conflict, Foreign Minister Wang Yi held phone calls with his Russian, Iranian, French, and Omani counterparts to articulate China's position. Wang stated that it was “unacceptable” for the US and Israel to attack Iran during ongoing US-Iran negotiations, and condemned the killing of a sovereign country's leader as a violation of international law and basic norms of international relations. 

Mao condemned civilian casualties caused by the strikes as “deeply saddening,” saying protection of civilians in armed conflict was “a red line and must not be violated.” She also condemned the targeting of a girls’ school in Tehran on Saturday and the bombing of Iran’s public broadcaster IRIB.

On the closure of Strait of Hormuz, Mao said China was urging all parties to keep shipping routes unimpeded. 

Bloomberg had previously reported that China was privately pressuring Iranian officials to avoid disrupting Qatari gas exports or other shipments through the strait. Mao did not directly deny this, saying only that “all parties have the responsibility to ensure stable and unimpeded energy supply” and that China would “do what is necessary to safeguard its energy security.”