People use minibuses to save gasoline in Taiz, Yemen, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. (AP File Photo)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has offered to help facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group amid escalating regional tensions.
Araghchi made the offer during a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan late on Sept. 11, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.
The Iranian minister expressed concern over rising tensions, warning that continued reliance on military action while ignoring political solutions would further complicate the situation.
He stressed that there was “no military solution” to the region’s ongoing crises.
Araghchi said Iran was ready to provide “any possible assistance” to initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis and help reach a political settlement, IRNA reported.
Earlier on Oct. 11, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the two ministers discussed “the recent escalation in the region and the efforts being made to address it.”
The ministry said the phone call was initiated by Araghchi but provided no further details.
The talks came amid a regional military escalation, including repeated attacks by the Houthis on Saudi airports and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
An attack on King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Oct. 10 killed 13 people and injured hundreds.
On Oct. 11, the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government accused the Houthi group of carrying out the airport attack and vowed a firm response.
During a press briefing on Oct. 12, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran is “deeply concerned about developments in the Arabian Peninsula,” adding the escalation “will only benefit the Israeli regime.”
“We believe continued escalation will only benefit the Israeli regime, and we do not want hostilities to continue between two Muslim countries, especially as the region is already facing tensions caused by the United States and Israel,” he said at the briefing.
Meanwhile, Houthi fighters have tightened their siege of the Yemeni city of Taiz, where fighting has killed more than 60 people in the past 24 hours.
The Houthis have blocked all exits and carried out several attacks overnight, said a military source loyal to the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government that holds the city.
The violence killed 22 members of the pro-government forces, the source said.
The Houthis lost at least 40 fighters, according to military sources from the Iran-backed movement, who said they were sending reinforcements.
The Houthis were keeping up their fight in Taiz governorate despite coming under Saudi airstrikes, the sources said.
