China has accused the United States at the United Nations of taking the Middle East to "a dangerous precipice" with its war against Iran.
During a debate on Yemen's Houthis, China's envoy to the UN, Sun Lei, said on Tuesday that "the US has irrefutable responsibility over the current situation in Yemen and the Red Sea."
"It is the US that is obstructing the efforts of the Council to end hostilities and allow the (continuation) of the crisis in Gaza and the expansion of the tensions," Sun said.
"Without the authorisation of the Security Council, and amidst the negotiations between the US and Iran, the US launched military attacks against Iran, once again plunging the situation of the region into a dangerous precipice."
Sun was responding to criticism of China by the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, who had just accused Beijing of violating the UN arms embargo in place on the Houthis.
"States like Iran and, to some degree, companies and entities in China have violated resolution 2216 with little consequence," Waltz said.
UN Security Council Resolution 2216, adopted in 2015, requires the Houthis to cease hostilities and withdraw from territory they have seized in Yemen.
It imposes a targeted arms embargo on the Iran-backed group and its allies, as well as individual sanctions including asset freezes and travel bans.
In a testy exchange between the two superpowers, Beijing's envoy said Washington "should reflect upon its own actions and take concrete measures to eliminate the negative impact of its actions and its rhetoric."
