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Iran denies arming the Houthis and offers to mediate between Riyadh and Yemen's rebels
Tehran's foreign ministry rejected Saudi accusations and said it would help if both sides asked. Missiles fell on Aden airport again, and the Houthis freed 159 captured government fighters.
Key points
- Iran's foreign ministry spokesman rejected any claim that Tehran played a role in Houthi attacks.
- Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was ready to help settle the Saudi-Yemen conflict if both sides asked.
- The Houthis released 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty, the Red Cross confirmed.
Iran on Saturday denied Saudi accusations that it is behind the Houthi missile and drone campaign against the kingdom, and offered to act as a go-between to end the fighting.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said late on Friday that Tehran “rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations”. On Saturday he went further, saying Iran was ready to help resolve the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Yemen by peaceful means if both sides asked it to.
The offer came after Riyadh accused Tehran this week of arming and encouraging the Houthis, and called their strikes on Saudi airports war crimes.
More missiles on Aden
The attacks have not stopped. Two missiles landed inside the perimeter of Aden airport, the seat of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government in the south. The Houthis said they were aiming at the headquarters of Saudi forces at Badr camp and a weapons depot. Yemen’s transport minister said the strike had put 151 passengers in danger.
On the ground, the Yemeni army said on Saturday that it had pushed forward in Marib province and retaken positions from the Houthis. Those claims could not be independently checked.
Prisoners freed
The Houthis released 159 pro-government fighters under an amnesty. Abdelqader al-Murtada, a Houthi official, said the men had “voluntarily surrendered themselves without fighting”. The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed the release. The Houthis say 323 prisoners were freed under the same amnesty last month.
Saudi Arabia’s interior ministry said on Saturday it had executed five Saudi nationals convicted of terrorism-related offences.
Travellers told to stay away
Western governments are tightening their advice on the kingdom. The US Embassy in Riyadh warned Americans late on Friday about possible attacks on airports. Australia’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Miles Armitage, told Australians not to travel there at all and to avoid King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. “Exercise extreme caution travelling to any other airports,” he said.
In South Asia, SriLankan Airlines has extended its suspension of flights to Riyadh and Dammam until 24 October.
Tehran’s message in Beirut
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Saeed Khatibzadeh, was in Beirut on Saturday, where he met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. He said “ending the war on all fronts is a key condition for peace” and credited the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June with bringing Israel’s war on Lebanon to an end.
Iran’s own war with the United States shows no sign of easing. On Saturday the Revolutionary Guards said another supertanker had hit a mine in the Strait of Hormuz.