China was on the sidelines of the Iran-Israel war. That's just where it wanted to be

Hong Kong CNN — Weeks after his country was battered by waves of Israeli strikes and the US bombed three of its prized nuclear facilities, Iran's foreign minister came to a gathering of regional diplomats in China this week with a simple ask. Their group, the Beijing and Moscow-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organization, should have a way to coordinate response to military aggression and play a "central role" in addressing such threats, Abbas Araghchi said, according to Iranian state media. Along with Iran, fellow SCO members China and Russia are key members of what lawmakers in Washington have dubbed an "axis"…