China has privately asked Tehran to help rein in Yemen’s Houthis after an appeal to Beijing by Saudi Arabia following the Iran-backed group’s military blitz in the past week, according to three Iranian sources familiar with ​the matter, Reuters reported.

Riyadh turned to China for help after the Houthis made rapid advances 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 said.

China has publicly called for restraint, dialogue and the restoration of safe navigation, but its private message went further than the public statements, they said.

Beijing wants Iran to use its influence with the Houthis to help prevent the conflict spreading further across energy routes on which China, the world’s second-largest economy, depends.

The sources, who were briefed on the discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide details of how the message was delivered or whether it was conveyed during a visit to China ​on Wednesday by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

The sources said Tehran’s response was that stability and peace in the region depend on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Chinese officials did not issue any explicit threats ​or indicate that Beijing would seek to pressure Tehran economically if it failed to use its influence over the Houthis, the three Iranian sources said.

In response to a ⁠Reuters request for comment on this story, the Chinese foreign ministry said: “China does not wish to see regional tensions further spill over into Yemen and the Red Sea. Escalating regional instability is not in the interests of ​any party”.

“The sovereignty and security of all countries should be respected, and facilities vital to people’s livelihoods must not be targeted. China calls for an end to actions that further complicate the situation and urges resolving issues through dialogue ​and negotiation,” it said.

Iran’s foreign ministry and the Saudi government’s media office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment for this article.

DANGERS OF A WIDER REGIONAL WAR

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,” said a senior Western diplomat in the region.

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 threat by the Houthis to shipping in the Red Sea and through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait risks sharply worsening the global energy crisis since Iran started ‌blocking the Strait ⁠of Hormuz and increasing the danger of a wider regional conflict.

With Hormuz already effectively shut, sustained Houthi attacks on vessels or ports in the Red Sea would disrupt the Middle East’s two main oil-export routes simultaneously, 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 of the sources 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.

CHINA’S DILEMMA

It is unclear whether Tehran will act on the concerns raised by Beijing, according to the three Iranian sources.

The relationship nevertheless carries significant economic and strategic weight for Iran as it continues to face hostilities ​with the US, they said.

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 its economy, battered by ⁠war and sanctions.

Beijing has also demonstrated its diplomatic influence. In 2023, China brokered the agreement that restored ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after years of hostility.

That influence has limits, however. 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. Iran’s decisions are shaped by competing strategic, economic and political priorities, they said.

“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.

US officials met representatives of Yemen’s Houthis in Oman ‌over the weekend, Reuters reported citing five sources familiar with the matter, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces.

The meeting, which has not been made public, was held at the US Embassy in Muscat, three of the sources said on the condition of anonymity. Two sources said that Oman’s government, a longtime regional mediator, helped organise the meeting.

The Trump administration designated the Houthis a “foreign terrorist organization” in March 2025 criminalising support for the group. But Washington has negotiated ⁠with them since, reaching a ceasefire in May last year after bombing the group for two months to halt a campaign of attacks on Red Sea shipping.

President Donald Trump said on Saturday the Houthis had phoned his administration asking the United States to keep out of the Yemen war. Vice President JD Vance said on Monday the US was in direct contact with the group, without giving details.

In the meeting, which one source said took place on Sunday, the Houthis told US officials they had no intention of attacking American vessels and that they were committed to the 2025 ceasefire with the US, two sources said.

One of the sources, a Yemeni, said the militia group also said they would not attack Israeli ships or any commercial vessels, except those belonging to Saudi Arabia.

According to two of the sources, the US side was represented by embassy ‌personnel.

One of ⁠those sources said the Houthi delegation included a senior official based in Muscat who is under US sanctions, Mohammad Abdulsalam. Another source confirmed Abdulsalam’s presence along with that of another senior Houthi official, Abdelmalik al-Ajiri.

Responding to questions, a State Department spokesperson said: “We have no comment on this specific reported meeting.”

The spokesperson also said safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism from the Middle East were core US interests.

Oman’s embassy in the US ⁠and senior Houthi official Abdulsalam did not respond to requests for comment.

The Houthis last week seized effective control of Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline, including the historic port of Mocha, and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb, or “Gate of Tears” strait, at the sea’s mouth.

The Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital in 2014, have fought ⁠against a Saudi-led coalition for more than a decade. The war had quietened under a ceasefire in recent years, but fighting resumed in July when the Houthis declared a blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea in response to a Saudi blockade of Yemeni ports.

Saudi Arabia’s de ⁠facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump last week seeking US military support amid the dramatic Houthi advances. Reuters has reported that Washington told Riyadh it would not get directly involved.

Saudi Arabia has accused Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement of attempting to launch a drone attack toward Mecca, declaring the holy city a “red line,” while the Houthis have denied carrying out the attack.

Saudi authorities said the drone was intercepted and destroyed before it entered the airspace over Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. The Houthis denied launching drones toward the city.

The reported incident has drawn condemnation from several countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which said any attempt to target the holy sites violates their sanctity.

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Col. Turki al-Maliki said the incident was the second alleged Houthi attempt to target Mecca, following a ballistic missile launch toward the city in 2017.

The development comes as Saudi Arabia faces renewed security pressures linked to the wider regional conflict. The Houthis have also carried out attacks against Saudi infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, according to the report.

Turkey and Pakistan say no Saudi request for military support

Saudi Arabia’s recently announced defense cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan has not been activated in response to the reported incident.

Officials from Turkey and Pakistan told The Associated Press that Riyadh had not requested military assistance. A Turkish official said efforts to establish the alliance’s operational framework still need to be completed.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the reported attack and said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia stand “shoulder to shoulder.”

Houthis claim they shot down Saudi fighter jet

The Houthis later claimed they had shot down an F-15 fighter jet operated by the Saudi-led coalition over Yemen’s central Marib province.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree provided no details on when the incident allegedly occurred. The Associated Press said it could not independently verify the claim.

U.S. officials have indicated that Washington does not currently intend to become directly involved in the conflict. President Donald Trump said the Houthis had indicated they did not want to fight the United States, while Vice President J.D. Vance said Washington remained in contact with both Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was visiting China, with discussions expected to include the regional conflict and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.