China said the United States' attack on Iran's nuclear facilities has damaged its credibility and it was concerned that the situation "may go out of control", its state broadcaster reported, following a U.

China, which depends on Iran for oil and to counter American influence, has a lot to lose from a wider war. But there’s not much it can do about it.

China strongly condemned the U.S. attacks on Iran and bombing of nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Sunday.

“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

The United States decisively entered into conflict with Iran on Saturday after President Donald Trump ordered US warplanes to drop massive bombs on three nuclear sites inside the country, thrusting him squarely into an escalating Middle East conflict even as he holds out hope the matter can be resolved diplomatically.

This military escalation constitutes a grave threat to peace and security in the Middle East and poses serious risks to regional stability,” Iraqi government spokesperson Basim Alawadi said in a statement published by state media.