🔶 “China’s talks with the Houthis for the safe passage of this country’s oil tankers”

Reuters, citing six informed sources, reported direct talks between China and the Houthis of Yemen for the safe passage of this country’s oil tankers through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

According to this report, after this armed group, allied with Iran, announced that it would block access to ports in Saudi Arabia, China asked the Houthis to ensure that ships of this country would pass through the southern Red Sea without being attacked.

These sources, which Reuters says include a senior Iranian official and who did not wish to have their names disclosed, say that China was among the first countries to contact the Houthis directly for passage through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the southern Red Sea.

Reuters writes that China’s Ministry of Transport, the Houthi media office, and Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not yet responded to the news agency’s request for comment.