Iran, Saudi Arabia discuss regional ‘insecurity’ as Yemen fighting flares
Members of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces clash with Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, according to the Yemeni government forces, in a location given as near Al-Hazm, Yemen, in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released Sep 9, 2026. (Photo: Media Centre Of The Yemeni Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS)
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TEHRAN: The top diplomats of Iran and Saudi Arabia spoke by phone to discuss “growing insecurity” in the region, Tehran said, without mentioning recent fighting in Yemen, where the two countries support opposing sides.
Tehran militarily and financially backs Yemen’s Houthis, who for years have held large parts of the country’s north and on Thursday (Sep 10) seized the strategic Red Sea port city of Mocha.
Riyadh has long supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government, and has been carrying out airstrikes on the Houthis since they began their advance, the group has said.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have also found themselves at odds during the wider Middle East war, which saw Tehran launch strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure and US-linked targets in the Gulf kingdom.
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Iranian top diplomat Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday evening about “the escalation of tensions and the growing insecurity in the region”, according to Tehran’s foreign ministry.
The summary of the call said the two parties “emphasised the need to continue cooperation and diplomatic efforts in order to prevent the spread of tensions and reestablish stability”.
Though the ministry did not specifically mention Yemen in the readout, a separate statement addressing the fighting there insisted it was “impossible to resolve the Yemeni crisis through … military intervention”.
The Houthis have controlled Yemen’s capital Sanaa and the major port city of Hodeida for years, but in recent days have launched a new offensive pushing towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway to the Red Sea.
The waterway, which links Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal, has gained importance as a transit route since the start of the wider Middle East war, which saw Iran blockade the Strait of Hormuz.
With their drones and missiles, the Houthis have been able to disrupt traffic in the Red Sea, and have also sought to enforce a maritime blockade on Saudi ports, while striking oil infrastructure there.
Yemen relapsed into war in July after years of relative calm punctured by sporadic violence and deepening poverty.
On Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Houthis said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at several cities in southern Saudi Arabia.
Source: AFP/ec
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