Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. It was their first publicly reported contact since the Iran-aligned Houthis stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi state news agency said the two discussed the recent escalation in the region and efforts to reduce tensions, and Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed the talks.
Araghchi warned against pursuing a military solution to the conflict. Saudi-backed forces continued their offensive against the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, in Yemen. The outreach also lands against the backdrop of the wider US-Israel war on Iran, and Tehran potentially wants to stay out of another confrontation.
Negar Mortazavi, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center for International Policy, told Al Jazeera that Tehran is an ally of the Houthis and has influence with them, though it does not control their decisions. She said Iran is positioning itself as "an indispensable party to a broader regional settlement." For Riyadh, that means the country with sway over the group that hit its airport is now offering to mediate.