Dialogue, ceasefire ‘only way out,’ China says after Trump delays hitting Iranian energy infrastructure

China on Tuesday urged the US, Israel and Iran to return to dialogue and end the conflict, a day after US President Donald Trump said Washington and Tehran were holding talks, a claim denied by the latter.

"The protracted war does not serve anyone's interests; a ceasefire and dialogue are the only way out," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

Expressing China's "grave concern" over the continued escalation and spillover of the current situation, which "dealt a severe blow to global and regional peace and stability," Lin said: "We call on relevant parties to immediately stop the fighting and return to peace and dialogue as soon as possible."

On Monday, Trump announced a five-day halt on all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure, citing "very good and productive" talks with Tehran over the past two days.

But Iranian officials rejected claims of talks, calling them "fake news."

Amid the ongoing back-channel talks to ease the situation and bring warring parties to the table, sources in Pakistan's Foreign Ministry told Anadolu that a US delegation was due in Islamabad for Iran talks. But Tehran was not yet ready to hold talks with Washington due to mistrust, they added.

On US threats to hit Iranian energy sources, Tehran had warned to "increase" retaliation on the "most important part of the electricity and water infrastructure of the Zionist entity (Israel) and the United States in the region."

Regional escalation in the Middle East has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far over 1,340 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with repeated drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military assets.

The Strait of Hormuz has also been effectively disrupted since early March. Around 20 million barrels of oil normally pass through it daily, and its disruption has driven up shipping costs and pushed global oil prices higher.