Not long ago, there was an "exclusive information" in the media claiming that China had put pressure on Iran to curb the attacks of the Houthis in Yemen near the Red Sea. Recently, Iranian officials responded positively to this news.
[Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Kanaani]
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Kanaani said on Monday that some journalists should seek information from trusted official sources. Claims that China is putting pressure on Iran over the situation in the Red Sea are unfounded, and Iran does not know which side the news is coming from.
In fact, the above news comes from an "exclusive information" by the British news agency Reuters, claiming that China has asked Iran to exert influence on Yemen's Houthis to exercise restraint or risk damaging China-Iran business relations. The report also said that the Chinese side raised the matter with Iran more than once at the meeting.
As soon as this news came out, it immediately sparked extensive discussions among all parties. First, the situation in the Red Sea today is indeed a problem with global implications, second, it is still quite rare for China to make demands on other countries, and more importantly, it may mean a subtle change in China's attitude towards the situation in the Red Sea. However, some people have noticed another situation, that is, this "exclusive news" from Reuters actually has a lot of doubts.
[Oil tanker attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels]
First of all, such an important message necessarily requires a clear and reliable source. However, according to the report, the news came from four "Iranian sources" and one "informed diplomat", all of whom were anonymous. There is no doubt that the lack of a clear source has already made the credibility of this report much less credible.
In addition, the report also mentioned that China conveyed its message to Iran at several meetings, but the so-called "sources" refused to disclose information about the meetings, including the time of the meeting and the list of attendees. Naturally, this situation further undermines the credibility of the report.
Now that the spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry has personally come forward to clarify the facts, it already means one thing, that is, this "exclusive report" by Reuters is fake news. China has not pressured Iran to exercise restraint from the Houthis, which is in line with China's formal statement.
China has several basic views on the situation in the Red Sea.
First of all, the root cause of the current tension in the Red Sea is the conflict in Gaza, and if we want to stabilize the situation in the Red Sea, we must start with peace in Gaza. In addition, the Red Sea is an important international freight and energy corridor, and China calls for an end to attacks and harassment of civilian vessels, and urges relevant parties to refrain from adding fuel to the fire of tensions in the Red Sea. In addition, China stressed that the UN Security Council has never authorized any country to use force against Yemen, and that it must earnestly respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighboring countries.
[The United States and its allies fight Yemen's Houthis]
By pointing out that the tensions in the Red Sea are related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Chinese side is actually telling some countries not to think about separating the two things, but to treat both the symptoms and the root causes. If certain countries continue to take a wrong attitude towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, then it is impossible to expect a smooth resolution of the Red Sea crisis.
China's call for an end to attacks on civilian vessels is actually addressed to the Houthis. After all, according to the basic reasoning, the practice of attacking civilian ships is indeed unjustifiable. However, at the same time, China also urges the relevant parties to refrain from adding fuel to the fire, and I believe everyone can understand who this "relevant party" refers to.
More importantly, China stressed that the Security Council has never authorized the use of force against Yemen, a clear response to the "preemptive" strikes by the United States and its allies against the Houthis. There is no doubt that China's intentions are clear enough that some actions by the United States and its allies are untenable and do nothing to stabilize the situation.
[The blow of the United States and its allies to Yemen backfired]
It can be seen that whether it is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict or the Red Sea crisis, China has made it clear. And how can China, with such an attitude, exert pressure on Iran to curb the actions of the Houthis? However, some countries would like to see China do this, and have already conveyed this meaning to China through multiple channels, and this country is the United States.
Earlier, it was reported that the US side had told the Chinese side that it hoped that China could exert its influence and allow Iran to contain the actions of the Houthis. The logic of the US side is that the Houthis have Iranian support behind them, so they will listen to Iran. And the relationship between China and Iran is very good, so as long as China speaks, it can influence the Houthis.
Obviously, this logical chain of the US side is completely unreasonable. Not to mention that both Iran and the Houthis have stressed that the attacks near the Red Sea were carried out by the Houthis and have nothing to do with Iran. Not to mention that China's relationship with Iran is one thing, and Iran's relationship with the Houthis is another. Moreover, in the final analysis, the act of helping the United States to speak is tantamount to pulling the strings, and it is impossible for China to do this.
[Members of local tribes associated with the Houthis march march]
The US side also admitted that although it made this request to the Chinese side, China's response to it was rather muted. Against this background, Reuters suddenly issued the above-mentioned "exclusive news". As soon as these two events are linked, the real purpose of the West is also about to come out.
The first is to put further pressure on China in an attempt to drag China into the chaos in the Middle East. The second is to try to interfere with relations between China and Iran, among other things. Although a lie told a thousand times will not become true, there is no guarantee that this continued influence of public opinion will not interfere with Iran and the Houthis. In fact, Iran did come forward to clarify the matter, because they also knew that if the West was allowed to continue to hype, some unexpected problems might arise.
It should be said that at the moment when Iran has come forward to clarify, the hype in the West on this issue may temporarily stop, but it will never end. It is foreseeable that it will not be long before the West will look for or even create another entry point to influence the regional situation. We also need to be fully prepared for what may happen in the future.