China criticized the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports along the Strait of Hormuz, saying the move was dangerous, even as a sanctioned Chinese vessel managed to transit through the critical shipping route on Tuesday.
Key Facts
At the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s daily press conference on Tuesday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said the American blockade was a “dangerous and irresponsible act,” that would further raise tensions in the region.
Guo warned that expanded U.S. military deployment in the region, along with the blockade, threatened to undermine an “already fragile ceasefire.”
The spokesperson also dismissed reports of China sending weapons to Iran, saying the allegation was “completely fabricated.”
Guo’s remarks were a more forceful pushback against the blockade, a day after a more muted remark calling for “restraint” from all sides of the conflict.
Earlier on Tuesday, China’s President Xi Jinping also appeared to criticize Washington during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez—the most vocal critic of the Iran war in the West—saying the “international order is crumbling into disarray.”
In a separate meeting with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheik Khaled bin Mohammed, Xi said China will “continue to play a constructive role” in the Middle East and added: “We cannot allow the world to revert to the law of the jungle.”
Tangent
The U.S. blockade went into effect at 10:00 AM ET on Monday. However, maritime intelligence firms reported that some U.S.-sanctioned tankers successfully sailed through the strait despite the blockade.
Citing data from Kpler, Reuters and Bloomberg reported the tanker Rich Starry, owned by Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping Co, passed through the strait carrying 250,000 barrels of methanol. The ship and its parent company were sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023 for aiding Iran evade sanctions on oil exports.
It is unclear if the ship made any stops at Iranian ports during its current transit.
CNN reported earlier that another sanctioned vessel, the Elpis, had managed to cross the strait on Monday, after the blockade went into effect.
Elpis was sanctioned by the Treasury earlier this year for serving as part of a “shadow fleet” that transported Iranian oil.
What To Watch For
According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. blockade of Hormuz is also facing pushback from a key Middle Eastern ally, Saudi Arabia.
According to the report, officials in Saudi Arabia are concerned that efforts to choke off ships entering and exiting Iranian ports on the Persian Gulf could trigger retaliation by Tehran and its proxies in Yemen.
Such a move could allow Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen to blockade the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which is a chokepoint in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia has been able to partially alleviate the pressure from Iran’s blockade of the Hormuz Strait by redirecting oil shipments through the Red Sea route, using its East-West pipeline.
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