With Egypt weighing possible military action against Yemen’s Houthis, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had received no answer from the group or Saudi Arabia to its mediation offer, Reuters reported.
Araqchi spoke to Iraq’s Al Ekhbariya TV after a series of Houthi-claimed attacks on Saudi targets. The group has claimed strikes on Saudi oil and aviation facilities this month.
Those claimed operations are separate from two Oct. 8 attacks on King Khalid International Airport. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said the earlier attacks killed three Saudi citizens and injured others.
Egypt’s National Defense Council has pledged support for Saudi Arabia, saying the kingdom’s security is tied to Egypt’s. The pledge did not announce a troop deployment.
Asked about Egypt’s possible involvement, Araqchi said, “Any foreign intervention would complicate matters.” He said Cairo had previously told Tehran it would not intervene directly in Yemen.
Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam said Oct. 18 that the group had contacted Saudi Arabia directly and through intermediaries, including Oman, about a Yemen peace roadmap, according to Houthi-run Saba. He said the Houthis had accepted a proposed five-day pause for talks on the condition that Saudi Arabia accept their humanitarian demands. Those contacts were separate from Iran’s mediation offer.
Saudi Arabia supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government amid renewed fighting. Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly accused Iran on Oct. 15 of arming and training the Houthis; Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei rejected the allegation Oct. 16.
Reuters reported that Egypt’s parliament postponed a vote on possible military action against the Houthis until Oct. 26.
