Pakistan relays Saudi warning to Iran demanding Houthis be reined in

Pakistan has delivered a warning from Saudi Arabia to Iran, demanding that Tehran rein in Yemen's Houthi rebels after their strikes on the kingdom escalated, Reuters reports, citing Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian officials and diplomats. Sources described it as a coordinated diplomatic effort to prevent the conflict from spiraling into a broader regional crisis.

On Tuesday, September 8, the Houthis struck an air base in the city of Khamis Mushait as well as oil infrastructure facilities in nearby cities, injuring 73 people. In response, Saudi aircraft carried out 54 airstrikes over 12 hours against militant positions across several Yemeni provinces. A spokesman for the Houthi armed forces, Yahya Saree, said the strikes would not go unanswered.

Defense pact adds pressure

Pakistan's warning carries particular weight because of an active defense pact binding Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stressed that any shift of hostilities onto Saudi territory could trigger the pact's collective defense mechanism, though Islamabad officials said their involvement would be limited to defending the kingdom's borders. Asif stated on Pakistani television that aggression against one of the three states would be treated as aggression against all three, with no ambiguity about it.

A regional diplomat said Islamabad is seeking a diplomatic solution and pressing Iran to restrain the Houthis before Saudi Arabia demands direct military involvement from Pakistan. A senior Iranian official confirmed receiving the warning but claimed Tehran does not control the Houthis. However, two Iranian sources said Tehran instructed the Houthis last week to carry out attacks on Saudi Arabia, promising additional funding and weapons, and that several commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps traveled to Yemen to help coordinate the strikes.

Saudi officials have already met with Pakistani and Turkish military leadership in Riyadh to work out joint steps. The parties agreed their forces would not enter Yemen and that any response would be launched only from Saudi territory. A Pakistani source said no final decision has yet been made on joining retaliatory strikes, but Pakistan could provide ground, air or technical support within Saudi borders if needed, without fighting on the territory of other states.