Ambassador Wu Haitao called for Middle Eastern countries to work together with the international community to improve the situation in that part of the world.

Wu, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, spoke at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday in New York about recent protests in Iran. The United States was criticized for requesting to meet on what some member states said was an internal issue for Tehran.

Demonstrations erupted in Iran in recent days after the government announced plans to raise fuel prices and cut monthly cash handouts to lower-income Iranians.

The unrest spread over 80 cities and towns and has resulted in 22 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, according to Iranian officials.

Wu said the recent development in certain parts of the Middle East is worrying and "poses a serious challenge to international peace and security".

Wu reiterated China's hope that countries in the region work together with the international community to seek fundamental solutions to achieve regional peace, stability and development.

He called for a political solution to the hot spot issues in the region.

"All sides should play constructive roles, persistently promote dialogue and consultation [and] reach a sustained solution that takes the interests of all parties into account," he said.

He said that all means should by employed to eliminate the root causes of terrorism.

He emphasized that the purpose and principles of the UN Charter should be adhered to; the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries of the region should be respected.

"Countries of the region should be encouraged to strengthen dialogue, deepen understanding and trust," he said.

As the Palestinian issue is the core of the Middle East issue, Wu said the international community should adhere to a two-state solution, work to restart Palestine-Israel negotiations, and achieve a comprehensive, just and sustained solution to the Palestinian issue at an early date.

The international community should persist in a political solution to the civil war in Syria as the main direction; continue to count on the UN as the main channel of mediation and push for the just and rational resolution of the Syrian issue at an early date.

Wu said China hopes and trusts that with the efforts of the Iranian government and people, Iran will remain stable and achieve development.

According to the UN Charter, the council's primary responsibility is maintaining international peace and security.

"Therefore, the Security Council should not discuss the internal affairs of any country, nor is it the venue for discussing the human rights issues of any country," he said.

Discussing Iran's domestic situation among the council members "does not help resolve the domestic issue of Iran", he said.

Iran's UN Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo told the Security Council that his government has "hard evidence" that recent protests in Iran were "very clearly directed from abroad".

Khoshroo also said that the United States had abused its power as a permanent member of the Security Council by calling for a meeting to discuss the protests.

"It is unfortunate that despite the resistance on the part of some of its members, this council has allowed itself to be abused by the current US administration in holding a meeting on an issue that falls outside the scope of its mandate," he said.

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