Iran Rejects Saudi Allegations It Encouraged Houthi Escalation

Iran has rejected Saudi Arabia’s accusation that it encouraged Yemen’s Houthi movement to step up attacks against the kingdom, saying the group makes its own military decisions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei issued the denial on Friday, following allegations by a Saudi official that Tehran had encouraged the latest escalation in the conflict.

The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have repeatedly targeted Saudi interests since fighting in Yemen intensified again in July. Their reported targets include oil installations, tankers operating in the Red Sea and Riyadh’s international airport, where an attack last week reportedly killed 13 people.

The Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government said it had intercepted more missiles and drones as the attacks continued.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations,” Baqaei said in a statement.

“Yemen’s armed forces act according to their own interests and assessments, and such claims are not credible to those familiar with relations between Iran and its friends. Nevertheless, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party,” he added.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Dr Rayed Krimly had alleged that the Houthis turned down an offer to meet in Oman when the latest hostilities began.

Despite rejecting the accusation, Baqaei said Tehran remained willing to help resolve the conflict through mediation, noting that Iran “has always been ready to use its good offices to help end the hostilities”.

The Saudi-led coalition reported further interceptions on Friday. Its spokesman said forces had “intercepted and destroyed three drones in the southern area and Riyadh… and two cruise missiles over the Red Sea”.

He also reported that “in the past hours, we intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile over Yanbu”, a city on the Red Sea coast that serves as the terminus of a major oil pipeline.

The escalation follows a Houthi offensive launched in Yemen in September, during which the group seized strategic areas held by government forces along the Red Sea coast, close to a critical route for international shipping.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, is facing the latest attacks amid wider instability in energy markets following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the broader Middle East war in February.

Security Council Condemns Attacks

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday “condemned in the strongest terms continued and escalatory Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”. It also denounced the group’s “attacks and threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab” Strait, which provides access towards the Suez Canal.

The council further criticised what it called the Houthis’ “reckless strikes” on Riyadh’s airport. According to the Saudi-led coalition, the facility had been targeted at least 20 times that month.

Krimly accused Tehran of continuing “to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN security council resolutions”.

“We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yemeni government troops, supported by Saudi air power, have mounted a counteroffensive aimed at retaking areas captured by the Houthis, but their efforts have yet to reverse the group’s territorial gains.

In a separate incident on Thursday, a missile attack on the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen’s interim seat of government, killed five people and wounded 16, according to the health minister.

Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani condemned the strike in a post on X, calling it a “cowardly” act and “a continuation of (the Houthis’) criminal pattern”.

A government minister who spoke on condition of anonymity said al-Zindani was at the palace when the attack occurred but “was not harmed in any way”.

The minister said three missiles struck a command centre for Yemeni government forces at the complex, while another two hit a command centre for Saudi coalition forces.

Houthi-affiliated media said the group had targeted “the headquarters of military operations, led by Saudi officers, at the Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, as well as weapons depots belonging to them”.

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