China has asked Iran to rein in Yemen's Houthi rebels at the request of Saudi Arabia, according to a foreign news report. The move is seen as a response to the rapid deterioration of oil shipping conditions amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Reuters reported on the 17th, citing Iranian sources, that China had privately made a forceful case to Iran for restraining the Houthis. According to the sources, Saudi Arabia turned to China for help after the pro-Iranian armed group stepped up military offensives, raising concerns about a blockade of the Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and increasing risks to oil exports and maritime shipping.
Publicly, China has called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation, but its private message was said to be considerably stronger. Beijing, which relies heavily on Middle East energy shipping routes, wants to see the conflict stop spreading.
Iran, however, told China that stability and peace in the region depend on ending the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, the sources said. China, for its part, was said to have made no explicit threats of economic pressure should Iran decline to exert influence over the Houthis.
Such pressure is possible because China has been Iran's largest trading partner and remains the biggest buyer of Iranian crude. A senior Western diplomat in the Middle East said Beijing remains one of the few capitals that can still press Iran to restrain the Houthi rebels.
Whether Iran will actually comply with China's request remains uncertain. Beijing has wielded considerable influence in the region, including brokering the normalization of diplomatic ties between longtime rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023, but complaints have also surfaced within Iran that Chinese investment outside the oil sector is too small. Some observers say Iran's response to China's request could serve as a key test of Beijing's real power. Saudi Arabia has asked its ally the United States for military support, but Washington is said to have ruled out direct military intervention.
