China Urges Iran to Curb Houthis as Red Sea Attacks Threaten Oil Routes

China has privately urged Iran to use its influence over Yemen's Houthis to prevent the conflict from spreading across key energy routes, after Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing following a week of rapid Houthi military advances, according to three Iranian sources briefed on the discussions.

Riyadh sought Chinese help as the Houthis pushed along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, moves that have left Saudi oil exports and shipping more exposed. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity and did not say how the message was delivered or whether it was passed during Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi's visit to China on Wednesday.

China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation. Its private message went further, with Beijing asking Tehran to help keep the conflict from spilling over into energy routes on which the world's second-largest economy depends.

The Chinese foreign ministry said in response to a request for comment that it does not wish to see regional tensions further spill over into Yemen and the Red Sea, adding that escalating instability serves no party's interests. It said the sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected, that facilities vital to people's livelihoods must not be targeted, and that issues should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation.

Iran's foreign ministry and the Saudi government's media office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

According to the sources, Tehran's response was that stability and peace in the region depend on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran. Chinese officials issued no explicit threats and gave no indication that Beijing would seek to pressure Tehran economically if it failed to act, the sources said.

Economic weight

China has been Iran's largest trading partner for more than a decade and remains the main buyer of its oil. Chinese purchases accounted for more than 80% of Iran's seaborne oil exports in 2025, averaging about 1.4 million barrels per day, according to commodities data and analytics firm Kpler.

"Beijing is one of the few capitals that can still press Iran to rein in the Houthis," a senior Western diplomat in the region said.

The Houthis, who emerged in the 1990s in opposition to Saudi Arabia's Sunni religious influence in Yemen, are armed, trained and funded by Iran, according to Iranian sources and Western countries, and form part of Tehran's anti-Western, anti-Israel "Axis of Resistance".

Any Houthi threat to shipping in the Red Sea and through Bab el-Mandeb risks sharply worsening the global energy crisis since Iran began blocking the Strait of Hormuz, and raises the danger of a wider regional conflict. With Hormuz already effectively shut, sustained attacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would disrupt the Middle East's two main oil-export routes at once, opening a new front in both the energy crisis and Iran's broader confrontation with the United States.

Iran and its allies now exert pressure over both ends of the region's key maritime network, one source said, adding that "China depends on both".

Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran Program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, said Beijing may oppose US pressure on Tehran, but its interests in the Middle East extend well beyond Iran. Roughly half of China's oil imports come from the region, while trade between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council states totals around $300 billion a year.

"Iran can disrupt Hormuz. But at some point that leverage begins hurting the very power Tehran increasingly depends on," Vatanka said.

Tehran's calculations

It is unclear whether Tehran will act on the concerns raised by Beijing, the three Iranian sources said. The relationship nonetheless carries significant economic and strategic weight for Iran as it continues to face hostilities with the US.

China is among the few countries with the financial capacity to provide the investment Tehran needs to sustain its oil industry and ease pressure on an economy battered by war and sanctions. Beijing has also demonstrated diplomatic influence, having brokered the 2023 agreement that restored ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after years of hostility.

That influence has limits. Critics inside Iran have complained about the relatively modest level of Chinese non-oil trade and investment since the two countries signed a 25-year cooperation pact in 2021, particularly compared with China's growing investment commitments in Gulf Arab states.

China remains a factor Tehran cannot afford to ignore, but two of the Iranian sources said Beijing's interests were only one consideration among many, with Iran's decisions shaped by competing strategic, economic and political priorities.

"Tehran and Beijing need each other. China is a factor Tehran cannot ignore, and Beijing wants Hormuz reopened and Red Sea shipping secured," the Western diplomat said.

Analysts say the key test will be whether China is prepared to attach consequences to its demands. Ultimately, they say, the clearest sign of Beijing's resolve would be evidence that it is willing to use its leverage over Tehran.