Imperative all parties refrain from any actions that might worsen situation in the Middle East: China Daily editorial

The worsening of the situation in the Middle East is a worrying tendency that could threaten the very fabric of world peace and security.

Since Jan 12, the Red Sea tensions have abruptly escalated after the United States and the United Kingdom launched rounds of air strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on commercial ships in the international waterway. Then, as if a Pandora's box had been opened, different stakeholders in the region have one after another begun to act willfully and carried out attacks on their long-time bete noires.

On Jan 15, Iran launched ballistic missiles at what it said was a spy base for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad in northern Iraq and "anti-Iran terror groups" in Syria. Earlier, Turkiye carried out air strikes targeting Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria.

In the past few days, tensions between Iran and Pakistan also flared up after the two neighbors traded attacks on "terrorist" hideouts on each other's territory near their border. Also last week, Jordan reportedly carried out air strikes on drug-traffickers in Syria.

These actions were emboldened by the US-led coalition's actions against Houthi militia. While a good example can influence people in good ways, the deteriorating situation in the region shows the toxic effect of a bad example should not be underestimated.

The latest US unilateral move, with no authorization from the United Nations Security Council, sent the wrong, misleading message that a country can attack others at will in total disregard of either international law or others' territorial integrity and sovereignty. From Iraq to Syria, Libya, and now Yemen, the US has formed belligerent cliques to pursue its own strategic gains and to maintain its hegemony. Its reckless moves have once again inflicted endless turmoil, violence, and suffering on the Middle East.

Despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's multiple trips to the Middle East in the past three months to "put out the fires", conflict and chaos have only become more widespread and uncontrollable. Not only does Israel's military operation in Gaza show no sign of abating, its spillover effects are dragging more actors to be party to what has rightly been described as the eschatological death cult agenda of a cabal in Washington, casting an ever darker shadow on regional and world peace and stability.

All parties should reflect on how quickly the situation has flared up to its present state and exercise restraint. They should stop adding fuel to the fires as this only makes them agents of the evangelical "cleansers of the world" in Washington. It is imperative that reason prevails and concerted efforts are made to end the Israel-Palestine conflict, respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region and safeguard the security of the sea lanes, so as to pave the way for a lasting resolution to the Palestinian issue.