Saudi Arabia steps up diplomacy to keep Houthis out of regional conflict
Shafaq News- Riyadh
Saudi Arabia is intensifying diplomatic engagement with Yemen’s Houthi movement to prevent it from entering the ongoing Middle East conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing a US official.
The report said Riyadh is working to maintain communication channels with the Iran-aligned group to keep it out of the confrontation, amid concerns that any escalation could threaten key shipping lanes in the Red Sea, a vital route for global oil supplies.
US and Israeli officials, according to the newspaper, are also seeking to avoid actions that could provoke the Houthis, who have previously launched attacks on vessels and infrastructure in and around the Red Sea during earlier phases of regional tensions.
The Houthis, formally known as Ansarallah, control large parts of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, and have been engaged in a prolonged conflict with the internationally recognized Yemeni government backed by a Saudi-led coalition since 2015.
Earlier, a Yemeni government source told Russia’s Novosti agency that the Presidential Leadership Council is considering a large-scale military operation against the group if it provides direct military support to Iran in the current escalation.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi political official, said the group has decided to stand alongside Iran and is closely monitoring developments, adding that its forces remain on alert.
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in his first statement that “new fronts” could be opened in response to what he described as US-Israeli aggression, while thanking allied groups across the region.
