China and the United States were at loggerheads in an emergency UN Security Council meeting called a day after the United States launched strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a move that marked a major escalation in the Israel-Iran air war. “We call for an immediate ceasefire and end to the hostilities in the context of the abrupt escalation of tensions in the Middle East,” said Fu Cong, China’s ambassador to the UN. “We call for effective protection of civilians. The ultimate victims of all...