DUBAI, January 29. /TASS/. Iran has refuted media reports alleging that it was asked by China to exert pressure on the Yemeni Ansar Allah rebel movement (the Houthis) to stop attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

"Journalists should use official, reliable sources," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani told a briefing. "These reports are absolutely groundless and the origin of this news remains unknown."

Reuters reported earlier that China had asked Iran to help stop attacks by Tehran-backed Houthi fighters in the Red Sea. According to the agency, China and Iran have had several meetings in Beijing and Tehran to discuss trade issues and attacks on ships in the Red Sea.

Following the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis warned that they would launch strikes on Israeli territory while barring ships associated with the Jewish state from passing through the waters of the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until Tel Aviv ceased its military operation against Palestinian radical group Hamas in the embattled enclave. Since mid-November, more than 30 civilian ships have been attacked by the Houthi in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.