China's top UN diplomat has accused the United States of "coercive behavior" and initiating the Iran war, while also condemning its widening sanctions against Chinese entities. These remarks were made as Beijing assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, amidst increased U.S. pressure to cut off Chinese funding channels to Iran. The diplomatic tensions highlight growing friction between the two global powers.

China’s top UN diplomat slammed the US on Friday over its coercive behaviour, sanctioning of Chinese vessels and firms and for starting the Iran war along with Israel as Beijing assumed the rotating one-month presidency of the UN Security Council. The verbal blast came as Washington heaped more pressure on China on Friday by sanctioning a China-based petroleum terminal operator, the latest in a string of recent US moves to cut off Chinese funding to Iran under what the White House has dubbed...