China Asks Iran to Help Stop Houthi Attacks on Shipping Lanes
Chinese officials have asked their Iranian counterparts to help rein in attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iran-backed Houthis or risk harming business relations with Beijing, four Iranian sources and a diplomat familiar with the matter said. The Iranian sources said that the discussions about the attacks and trade between China and Iran took place at several recent meetings in Beijing and Tehran. "Basically, China says: 'If our interests are harmed in any way, it will impact our business with Tehran. So tell the Houthis to show restraint," said one Iranian official briefed on the talks. The attacks, which the Houthis say are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, have raised the cost of shipping and insurance by disrupting a key trade route between Asia and Europe used widely by ships from China.
Yemen's Houthi rebels reported fresh airstrikes by the U.S. and its allied British forces on the western province of Al-Hudaydah on Saturday. The Houthi-run satellite channel Al-Masirah reported that "the American-British aggression targeted the Ras Issa area in Al-Hudaydah Governorate with two raids." The channel did not provide further details regarding the damage caused by the attacks. The targeted area includes the Ras Issa seaport, one of the three strategic Al-Hudaydah province ports. The U.S. Central Command announced at dawn on Saturday that it had destroyed an anti-ship missile belonging to the Houthis that was prepared to be launched from Yemen towards the Red Sea.
The Yemeni government said on Saturday the expulsion of the American-British United Nations employees by the Houthi group is a blatant violation of national and international laws and conventions. In a statement, the government expressed its full support and solidarity with the humanitarian community against the arbitrary actions taken by the Houthi group, including the expulsion of U.N. employees and humanitarian relief agencies. The Houthi decision to order the American and British UN staff came after the U.S. and U.K. forces launched dozens of strikes on Houthi military sites in Yemen. The statement said such a decision is an "unethical action". On Wednesday, the United Nations confirmed that the Houthi demanded its British and American employees to leave Yemen.
Intense fighting raged Saturday in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, the main theater of conflict where the Israeli army is targeting the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas. The unabated hostilities came a day after the U.N.'s International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Israel must prevent possible acts of genocide in the conflict but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Tensions rose between Israel and the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees after Israel charged that several UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas attacks of October 7, leading some key donor countries to suspend funding. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas and Gaza's health ministry says the Israeli military offensive has killed at least 26,257 people, about 70 percent of them women and children.
