Why China is taking a behind-the-scenes role in the Iran war

China said relatively little in the early weeks of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, a longtime friend of Beijing. There was no outpouring of grief for the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed. In response to the selection of his son, Mojtaba, as his successor, China’s Foreign Ministry responded with a simple statement that it had “noted relevant reports.”