Rubio Challenges China: Tell Iran Not To Close Strait Of Hormuz. The Next Day, China Warns Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the reality that China would be severely damaged by Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, challenged the Chinese government on Sunday to tell the despotic Iranian regime not to do so.

“China in particular buys more oil from Iran than any other nation – with its imports from Iran surpassing 1.8 million barrels per day last month, according to data by ship tracking firm Vortexa,” the BBC noted. Iran’s state-run Press TV reported that the Iranian Parliament had endorsed closing the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision would be made by the Supreme National Security Council.

“Do you expect Iran to move to close the Strait of Hormuz, to try to disrupt oil transportation across the world?” Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo asked Rubio on Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them [Iran] about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio answered. “If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake; it’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response, not just by us, but from others.”

“So, look, they’re going to say what they need to say, you know,” he continued. “These are the things that need to happen for their own internal politics, and so forth. But in the end, we’re going to judge them by the actions that they take moving forward. We had three objectives; we struck those three objectives with decisive force, and that was the point of this mission. And what happens next will depend on what they do. If they want to negotiate, we’re ready to negotiate. If they want to get cute, and do things that are dangerous, we have responses available that are devastating.”

Rubio’s words may well have been heard in China; on Monday, it was reported that China warned Iran to back down from its threat to close the Strait.

China warns Iran after its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz:
“The Persian Gulf and surrounding waters are critical trade routes and must remain stable and open.” pic.twitter.com/xzIrnzkVQd

— Polymarket Intel (@PolymarketIntel) June 23, 2025

“We estimate that 84% of the crude oil and condensate and 83% of the liquefied natural gas that moved through the Strait of Hormuz went to Asian markets in 2024,” the U.S. Energy Information Administration has reported. “China, India, Japan, and South Korea were the top destinations for crude oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz to Asia, accounting for a combined 69% of all Hormuz crude oil and condensate flows in 2024. These markets would likely be most affected by supply disruptions at Hormuz.”