Iran rejects Saudi accusations of backing Houthi attacks, offers to mediate between Saudi & Houthis

A fresh diplomatic row has erupted between Iran and Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks continue to target the kingdom. Tehran has rejected Riyadh's accusations that it is behind the latest wave of attacks, insisting that the Houthis act independently. And in an unexpected move, Iran has even offered to help mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni group. But with missiles striking airports, drones being intercepted and shipping routes under threat, the tensions show little sign of easing. The US says Tehran has encouraged the escalation. Saudi Deputy Minister Raed Krimli has accused Iran of continuing to arm, train and support the Houthis in violation of United Nations resolutions. He also claims that the group rejected an offer to hold talks in Oman, but Tehran has dismissed those allegations. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani says his country has played no role in the Houthi operations. He insists the group makes its own decisions and says further escalation would not benefit anyone. He added, and I quote, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party. Kanaani has also repeated Iran's offer to help end the hostilities if both sides request its involvement. But on the ground, the fighting is intensifying. The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted three drones over Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and a ballistic missile over Yanbu. Yanbu is particularly important. It is home to the terminus of a major Saudi oil pipeline and Riyadh's international airport has become another major target. Thirteen people were killed in an attack last week, while the coalition says the airport has been targeted at least 20 times this month. Now the violence is also spreading across Yemen. Two missiles landed inside the perimeter of Aden airport on Friday, although no casualties were reported a day earlier. A strike on Aden's presidential palace killed five people and injured 16. The Houthis claimed they were targeting Saudi military facilities. And meanwhile, government forces backed by Saudi air power are struggling to reverse Houthi territorial gains along the Red Sea coast. The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the attacks, including threats to shipping through the Red Sea and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. And with the Strait of Hormuz already closed amid the wider West Asia war, the pressure on global energy routes is growing. Iran says it wants to help end the fighting, but the fact of the matter is that the missiles are still flying and the diplomatic divide between Tehran and Riyadh is visibly widening. Now, we are being joined live by Khaled Al-Mina, political analyst and former editor-in-chief, Arab News and Saudi Gazette, to give us insights on the issue. Welcome to the broadcast, sir. Do you think Saudi Arabia is buying this, Iran trying to help Riyadh? Well, I think Iran, you mean to come up and deal with them, I think much water has flown under the bridge right now. I think the time now has come to find out what is happening and how is it happening and why suddenly the Houthis came up with eruptions of guns and firepower, drones, missiles and all. And who is behind this? Now, everyone knows that Houthis were proxies of Iran and are proxies of Iran for a long time. But now to come and try to turn the table upside down is causing a lot of grief to people in Yemen itself because Yemen is an impoverished country and Saudis have been very restrained in their attacks, not because they can't, because the firepower is there, but they wanted to avoid collateral damage. But really it's, you know, pain in the neck, rather a deadly pain in the neck with these bombs coming at the Riyadh airport last week, here and there and all. So I think it's time now for the countries in the region to come up to terms and find out what is happening behind all these sinister, as much as one tries to fathom the reason and the sudden hyperactivity in aggression, we have to find out the real motives behind. Now, Tehran has said that it is going to sort of engage between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis and all, But I think it's much far beyond because the Houthis now are a non-state actor and having their own weapons and being aided by somebody else now, I think, because you see they're brigands and rebels and they can take arms and anything from anywhere. So it's a bit of a tricky position. Indeed, Mr. Al-Aminah, as you rightly said, it is a tricky position. It looks like an arsonist firefighter play at this moment. But do you think Tehran actually holds the leverage and the ability to bring down the Houthis or maybe control them for some period of time? Well, frankly speaking, they can control them. But right now, you know, as they say in America, it's a rogue operation. Maybe the Houthis have now disbanded into two or three other factions because with these, you never know. But I think whatever the case may be, it's also up to the Yemeni and the government to try to come to terms with the Houthis. I agree that Tehran may have some kind of control on them. But right now with all what's happening, because it's not in the interest of Iran to create more problems, because Iran has been defanged. It has been hit very hard. It has lost a lot of diplomatic moves on many fronts. So it's not in the interest of Iran. And if they are doing this in a clandestine way, I think they'll be suffering a lot. But on the other hand, the Houthis themselves know that the Saudis, if they want to hit back, can hit back with real force. but the only thing that prevents the Saudis is the humanitarian concern because we know that they are in such a mess, poverty, disease, all these things that are going on. Mr. Almina, with this kind of assurance coming in from Tehran that they would be ready to help Riyadh, how do you see the Mecca Pact acting out right now? How do you see Turkey and Pakistan coming in this play? Well, Turkey and Pakistan, it's more of a defense pact and all And not much was known. But now, right now, we can see both countries have offered full support to Saudi Arabia in containing any attacks and all. I don't think so there will be ground forces by others and the Saudis would want to go in. It's up to the Yemeni government. They will be providing logistical support. They will be providing arms and armaments to the legal Yemeni government to see that they contain the Houthis. And there are reports of the governments moving in with help to contain the Houthis and trying to defeat them on several fronts. Indeed, Mr. Almina, thank you so much for your insights. It does look like Tehran is offering a diplomatic exit while also managing the chaos in a way that it arms. But thank you so much for your time and joining us. Thank you.