China Privately Asks Iran to Rein In Houthis Following Saudi Appeal to Beijing

China has privately pressed Iran to use its influence to curb Yemen's Houthi movement, according to three Iranian sources cited by Reuters, after Saudi Arabia asked Beijing to intervene. The request reflects a significant diplomatic maneuver by China, which maintains close ties with both Riyadh and Tehran and has positioned itself as a key broker in Middle Eastern affairs.

The diplomatic pressure arrived against a backdrop of sharply escalating military activity. Saudi civil defense reported that Houthi forces launched a drone targeting the city of Taif on September 17, while Saudi Arabia separately said its air defenses intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it could enter restricted airspace over the holy city. The Houthis denied targeting Mecca, and Iran cautioned that the Saudi account of the incident did not by itself establish who was responsible.

The broader regional context is one of sustained conflict. Day 200 of the U.S.-Iran war saw the IRGC claim it shot down a U.S. MQ-9 drone over Qeshm Island, which it described as the 53rd American drone destroyed in the conflict. A UN inquiry is reportedly scrutinizing U.S. military actions in Iran, including a strike on a school in Minab that allegedly killed more than 150 people. Iran's IRGC commander warned that Tehran would respond decisively to any enemy miscalculation, while the Iranian Army asserted that U.S. naval vessels do not dare approach Iranian shores.

The Houthi leader blamed Saudi aggression for the latest escalation. The group controls Sanaa and large portions of northern and western Yemen, and has expanded its activity along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia, for its part, reportedly fired a Chinese-made DF-15 ballistic missile into Yemen, which would mark the first combat use of a Chinese ballistic missile by the kingdom.