Pakistan has conveyed a warning from Saudi Arabia to Iran, urging Tehran to rein in its Yemeni Houthi allies after the group intensified attacks on the kingdom, according to Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources.
The Houthis attacked an airbase in Khamis Mushait and oil infrastructure in nearby cities on Tuesday, injuring 73 people in one of the largest assaults on Saudi Arabia since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in February, reports Reuters.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on Wednesday that Saudi warplanes had carried out 54 airstrikes across several Yemeni provinces over the previous 12 hours. He warned that the attacks would “not go unanswered and unpunished”.
The escalation has opened a second front threatening global energy supplies, as Iran and the United States engage in their largest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping in the Gulf region since the war began.
Pakistan’s warning carries considerable weight because Islamabad has defence agreements with Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
Although Pakistani officials said any military involvement would be limited to defending Saudi territory, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said attacks spilling into the kingdom could activate a joint security arrangement involving Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad.
“An aggression on one country will be considered an aggression on all three countries,” Asif said on Pakistani television.
“There is no ambiguity or doubt… Unprovoked aggression or spillover… into Saudi Arabia will definitely make this agreement operational.”
Pakistan’s defence ministry, foreign ministry and military did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Fears of proxy war widening
Pakistan’s intervention, after years of balancing relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran, highlights the seriousness of the Houthi attacks. The message to Tehran is clear: restrain the Houthis or risk allowing the proxy conflict to develop into a wider regional security crisis, the sources said.
A senior regional diplomat said Pakistan had delivered the message to Iran over the past 24 hours, urging Tehran to use its influence to stop Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that Pakistan conveyed the warning to Tehran on Tuesday. Iran’s response was that “Iran does not control the Houthis”.
However, two Iranian sources said Tehran had instructed the Houthis last week to launch attacks on Saudi Arabia. They said Iran had promised additional funding and weapons, while several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders had travelled to Yemen to help coordinate the attacks.
The regional diplomat said Islamabad was seeking to contain the Houthis before the escalation reached a stage where Riyadh could ask Pakistan to take a more active role in its defence.
“Pakistan has an agreement with Saudi Arabia, but I am hopeful the situation will not reach the point where Pakistan has to practically step in,” the diplomat told Reuters. “It will pursue a diplomatic solution for now.”
