Beijing has evacuated over 1,600 of its citizens from Iran and hundreds of others from Israel, Al Jazeera quotes Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun as saying.

Speaking at a press briefing, Jiakun said that China remains in contact with both Iran and Israel and urges de-escalation.

When asked about US President Trump’s warning that he is considering intervening militarily in the conflict, Jiakun said China is against “the use or threat of use of force in international relations”.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Iran has renewed calls for citizens to leave the country via land routes, while also warning people about longer immigration processing time as congestion has formed at two border checkpoints — Astara heading into Azerbaijan and Bajgiran into Turkmenistan, Reuters reports.

Those border crossing points are 490km and 910km away from Tehran, respectively.

Chinese people can also leave Iran via Turkey, Armenia and Iraq, the embassy has advised.