Saudi Arabia confirmed its defense minister visited Tehran on Oct. 26, while Israel Hayom reported an unverified proposal for a $1 billion transfer to Yemen’s Houthis tied to a ceasefire.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz traveled with representatives of countries in the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement to meet senior Iranian officials. The ministry placed the trip within broader de-escalation efforts and voiced support for mediation work by Qatar and Pakistan.
The joint statement issued after the talks named Khalid, Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir and Türkiye’s intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin among the participants. It said the four governments would continue consultations on regional cooperation and security.
Israel Hayom reported, citing Gulf diplomatic sources, that a proposed ceasefire deal would route $1 billion from Saudi Arabia to the Houthis via Iran. The newspaper said a Saudi official did not verify whether money had changed hands. Neither public statement referred to such a payment, and the official accounts did not confirm whether a transfer was proposed, agreed or made.
Israel Hayom also quoted a Saudi official who linked the dispute to understandings from three years earlier. In the official’s account, Saudi funding for public-sector wages and civilian infrastructure in Houthi-held areas depended on a ceasefire and an end to attacks.
Two regional officials who were not authorized to speak publicly told the Associated Press that the talks included discussion of Yemen’s war and Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. On Oct. 23, the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia said in a joint statement that they condemned Houthi attacks and urged the group to halt military operations and return to political talks.
EconoTimes previously reported on Iran’s offer to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. The latest joint statement announced no date or location for further talks.
