China urges Iran talks as Saudi strike hits Yemen's Houthi-held port
Wang Yi tells Iran's security council deputy in Beijing that negotiation is the only path, as Houthi attacks disrupt flights from Saudi airports.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told a senior Iranian security official in Beijing on Monday that dialogue and negotiation were the only way out of the Middle East's conflicts, as reports said Saudi Arabia had struck the biggest port under Houthi control in Yemen and the group repeated threats against Saudi oil and aviation.
Wang met Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. "As conflicts in the Middle East drag on and risk further spillover, dialogue and negotiation remain the only viable path forward," Wang said, according to the South China Morning Post. He said all parties should focus on a political settlement. Reuters reported that the Chinese foreign minister pushed for dialogue to resolve the Middle East conflict, and gave no further detail of the meeting.
NDTV reported that Saudi Arabia struck the biggest port under Houthi control, and that the group called the attack a war crime. The report did not give the date of the strike, say what was damaged, or give casualty figures.
Middle East Eye reported that the Houthis repeated threats against a Saudi oil giant and against the kingdom's aviation. It gave no detail of when the threats were issued or what prompted them.
The Houthis control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.
Houthi attacks have disrupted nearly half of the scheduled flights from Saudi airports, the Kathmandu Post reported, leaving Nepali migrant workers stranded without clear information as their leave ran out and their exit and re-entry permits neared expiry. The workers had missed Dashain, Nepal's biggest festival, and faced an uncertain Tihar, the paper reported. The Post said they had been given no clear word on when flights would resume.
Wang has stressed the need for a political settlement in the region before, the South China Morning Post reported.
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