Iran on Friday denied having anything to do with attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, a day after Saudi Arabia accused it of having encouraged the group’s recent escalation against the kingdom.
Since Yemen’s civil war flared back to life in July, the pro-Iran Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi targets including Red Sea tankers, oil facilities and Riyadh’s international airport, where 13 people were killed in a single attack last week.
A Saudi-led military coalition has supported Yemen’s internationally recognised government for more than a decade, and reported on Friday having intercepted more missiles and drones as the kingdom comes under sustained attack from the Houthis.
A day earlier, a Saudi foreign ministry official said Iran had “encouraged” the escalation, which Tehran denied.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.
“Yemen’s armed forces act according to their own interests and assessments, and such claims are not credible to those familiar with relations between Iran and its friends. Nevertheless, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party,” he added.
The Saudi official, deputy minister for public diplomacy Dr Rayed Krimly, had said the Houthis rejected an offer to meet in Oman at the outset of the latest round of hostilities.
