Iran's FM says Tehran ready to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia, Yemen

TEHRAN/RIYADH -- Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Sunday voiced his country's readiness to provide any kind of assistance to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and prepare the ground for achieving a political solution to the ongoing conflict.

He made the remarks in a phone call with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, in which the two sides discussed the ongoing developments in the West Asia region, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Araghchi expressed grave concern over the escalation of tensions, saying insistence on pursuing military approaches and turning a blind eye to political solutions solely further complicate the status quo.

He stressed that there is no military solution to the crises in West Asia.

The phone conversation came amid a sharp escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis, with intensified Saudi air operations against Houthi-held areas accompanying repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia, including airports and energy facilities.

The fighting has increasingly spilled across Yemen's borders. A Houthi attack on a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed 12 people and injured 309 others, according to Saudi authorities.