Pakistan says won’t be part of regional conflict

Pakistan's foreign minister says his country will not let its soil be used against any other state and the Islamic nation will not become part of any regional conflict.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi's comments followed his contacts with the foreign ministers of Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. He called for restraint and de-escalation as tensions rise over the US killing of Iran's top military commander.

Qureshi in a Twitter post on Monday added that Pakistan's position is very clear in standing for peace and stability and that "violence must be avoided."

Pakistan has been a key ally of the United States in its war on terror since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It is also closely allied with Saudi Arabia but tries to maintain a diplomatic balancing act between Riyadh and Tehran.

China says it believes Iran was "forced" to reduce its commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal and says the "recent military adventures by the US violated the basic norms governing international relations."

Iran on Sunday abandoned the remaining limits of the agreement in response to the US airstrike that killed its top military commander. The country mourned him Monday.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang added that "there is no way out by military means, and extreme pressure will not work." He said "power politics is unpopular and unsustainable."

China is among the countries that signed the nuclear deal. The spokesman asserted that Iran has demonstrated restraint under the agreement and "did not violate its obligations.”