China Has Demanded That Iran Rein In The Yemeni Houthis

• 17.09.2026, 20:32

Saudi Arabia has reached out to Beijing.

The Houthi armed group in Yemen, which Iran has made one of the pillars of its “axis of resistance” against U.S. interests in the Middle East, has begun to cause serious problems for Tehran’s main financial backer—Beijing. Having purchased nearly all of Iran’s oil, China now finds itself cut off from those supplies along its two main Middle Eastern routes—through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. The first is blocked by Iran, and the second by the Houthis, whom Iran supports.

Saudi Arabia used to export oil via these two routes, and it has appealed to Beijing to persuade Tehran to rein in the militants. The Chinese did so privately, according to Reuters three Iranian sources. China has already publicly called for restraint, dialogue, and the restoration of safe shipping, but, according to them, it has now gone beyond official statements.

Beijing wants Iran to use its influence over the Houthis to prevent the conflict from spreading further to the energy routes on which China depends. In the six months since the war in the Middle East began, China has become one of the main stabilizing forces in the global oil market, cutting its oil imports by roughly half. But in recent weeks, China has resumed larger-scale purchases, and it does not need new supply problems.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, has almost lost the ability to export its oil. Since the start of the war, it has made most of its shipments via the Red Sea, using an oil pipeline that runs across the country from east to west. But the Houthis began shelling its energy facilities, and an attack last week from a border region of Iraq—where Tehran-backed militants are also active—led to the destruction of a pumping station and the shutdown of the pipeline.

The Houthis, who possess heavy weaponry ranging from missiles to drones, have seized the strategically important island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which allows them to exercise significant control over the southern exit from the Red Sea.

For more than 10 years, China has been the largest trading partner of sanctions-hit Iran. According to Kpler, in 2025, China purchased more than 80% of Iran’s oil, or about 1.4 million barrels per day.