Iran urges diplomacy with Saudi Arabia after deadly Houthi strikes
Iran has said it is ready to help facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis after a phone call between the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers. The discussion came after recent attacks on Saudi airports and deadly strikes in the kingdom, according to the supplied report. Tehran said the region's crises have no military solution and argued that political engagement is needed.
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Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, received the call from his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, the Saudi state news agency reported. The two ministers discussed the latest escalation in the region, including Houthi attacks on Saudi airports. In a post on Telegram, Araghchi said insisting on a military approach while ignoring political solutions would only make the situation more complicated.
Araghchi also said Iran was ready to provide any assistance needed to help start dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen and to support a political settlement. The remarks followed a deadly attack on the Riyadh airport that killed 12 people and wounded 300, according to the report. The same report said US President Donald Trump said he would reconsider the US role in Yemen and was weighing whether to resume strikes on Iran.
The exchange matters because it comes amid renewed regional tension involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who are backed by Iran. It also highlights the continuing risk that attacks in Yemen and across the Gulf can spill into wider diplomatic and security crises. For Saudi Arabia, the strikes have direct domestic consequences, while for Iran the call reflects an effort to present diplomacy as the preferred route.
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The report said Iranian and Saudi diplomatic ties have remained in place despite long-running friction, with embassies restored under a 2023 Chinese-brokered agreement. Before that breakthrough, the two countries had endured a seven-year diplomatic rupture that fed regional proxy conflicts. The same report said relations have deteriorated again since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February, with Tehran and aligned forces striking US military assets and energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
In March 2026, Prince Faisal warned Iran that tolerance for attacks on Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf states was limited, and urged Tehran to recalculate its strategy. What remains unclear is whether the latest contact will lead to any direct Saudi-Houthi dialogue or any change in the pace of attacks. The next developments to watch are whether Iran follows up with mediation efforts and whether Saudi Arabia responds publicly to the offer.
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