Iran ‘deeply concerned’ over escalation between Houthis, Saudi Arabia

Iran said Monday it was “deeply concerned” by escalating attacks between Yemen’s Tehran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia, after 14 people died in two days of strikes on Riyadh’s airport.

“We are deeply concerned about the developments taking place in the Arabian Peninsula,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a weekly press conference, adding that Tehran was ready “to help facilitate dialogue between the parties”.

A Houthi strike on Riyadh’s international airport on Sunday killed one person and wounded 11 others, a day after 13 died in the deadliest strike on Saudi soil in more than a decade.

“We absolutely do not want hostilities and war to continue between two Islamic countries,” Baqaei said, urging the parties to resolve the situation “through dialogue and engagement”.

The Houthis are part of the Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance”, a network of groups opposed to Israel that also includes Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi Shiite armed groups.