Iran-backed Houthis step up conflict with Saudis by targeting oil facilities

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday there was no military solution to the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, after both sides traded attacks.

"We believe that there is no military solution to the issue of Yemen, Bab al-Mandab, and other regional issues," said Araghchi in an interview published on Saturday by the state-run Iran Daily newspaper, calling for "dialogue."

He said the situation in Yemen "cannot be attributed to Iran" and the incidents in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait were "rooted in old disputes and issues between Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region."

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei made similar remarks, expressing Tehran's readiness to facilitate any talks between the two sides.

"Returning to the path of dialogue and the full implementation of the agreed roadmap is the only way to end the suffering of the Yemeni people and maintain security and stability in the region," Baqaei said.

Pakistan has reached out to Saudi officials as tensions start to boil over between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

Ishaq Dar, foreign minister for Pakistan, spoke to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Saturday hours after the Houthis targeted two Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The two leaders exchanged views on the latest regional developments and reaffirmed the close and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia," according to the foreign ministry. "They underscored the importance of continued diplomacy and shared their commitment to promoting constructive engagement, peace, and stability in the region."

The drone and missile attacks on Saudi-owned Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday came in response to Saudi airstrikes Friday on the Red Sea city of Hodeida, a city controlled by the Houthi rebels near the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Iran-backed Houthi military had threatened to shut down the strait in solidarity with Iran's shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis fired on two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea late Wednesday.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday their forces stopped four ships attempting to transit the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.

"Four vessels that had intended to transit through the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz via an illegal and unsafe route were stopped over the past 24 hours after warning shots were fired by the IRGC Navy," the Guards said in a statement quo