China, at the request of Saudi Arabia, has urged Iran to rein in its allies in the Yemen-based Houthis, who have conducted a military blitz that has left Saudi oil exports and shipping exposed.
Saudi officials reached out to the Chinese after the Houthis’ rapid advances along the Red Sea coast this month, according to Reuters.
The Houthis’ actions pose a unique threat in the region as Iran has limited shipping through the Strait of Hormuz for several months. The Red Sea is a key waterway, especially in light of the Iranian attacks in the strait, that connects the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. The narrowest point of the Red Sea is called the Bab el Mandeb Strait, and the Houthis carried out dozens of attacks on transiting vessels there in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
The Houthis now control the entire coast of Yemen, including Perim Island, which is off Yemen’s coast. Amid fears that they would resume attacks on vessels transiting the waterways and further imperil the global energy crisis, the Iranian-aligned rebels said they would only attack Saudi vessels.
Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline was recently damaged, as well, in attacks blamed on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. The pipeline had been an alternative way to transport oil, with the Strait of Hormuz less viable.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Beijing on Wednesday to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
Wang told his Iranian counterpart that the “continued protracted conflict between the U.S.-Iran conflict is not in the common interest of the parties involved or the international community,” according to a readout of their meeting from Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
The U.S. has sought to squeeze Iran economically amid the extended but low-level war. China is the primary buyer of Iranian oil, and even as an ally, Beijing wants to see the Strait of Hormuz reopened and does not want to see the tension spill over across the region.
BREAKING DOWN THE MILITARY’S NEARLY $40 BILLION IRAN WAR
“We urge all parties to take effective measures to open the Strait of Hormuz as soon as possible, maintain the safety and smooth flow of international shipping lanes, and safeguard the stability of international energy transportation and supply chains,” Jian’s readout continues. “We do not want regional tensions to spill further over into Yemen and the Red Sea. We call on all parties to stop further complicating the situation and resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation.”
The Araghchi-Yi meeting comes a week ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s highly anticipated visit to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
