U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, reports BBC News.

Iran's state-run Press TV reported June 22 that parliament had approved a plan to close the Strait, but that the final decision lies with the Supreme National Security Council. 

Around 20% of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. China is the world's largest buyer of Iranian oil, and has a close relationship with Tehran. Other major Asian economies, including India, Japan and South Korea, also rely heavily on crude oil that passes through the Strait. 

Oil prices rose following the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites, with the price of the benchmark Brent crude reaching its highest level in five months.

"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 had said in an interview with Fox News on June 22. 

"If they [close the Straits]... it will be economic suicide for them. 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."

In a post on his Truth Social platform on June 23, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!"

On June 23, Beijing said the U.S. strikes had damaged Washington's credibility and called for an immediate ceasefire.

China's UN Ambassador Fu Cong said all parties should restrain "the impulse of force... and adding fuel to the fire," according to a state-run CCTV report. 

In an editorial, Beijing's state newspaper Global Times also said U.S. involvement in Iran "had further complicated and destabilized the Middle East situation" and that it was pushing the conflict to an "uncontrollable state."