Esmaeil Baghaei denies the Islamic Republic's role in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry, on Friday, 16 October 2026, rejected Saudi Arabia's accusation about Tehran's role in the Houthi attacks on that country — an accusation addressed in an earlier DIAR report. He claimed the Houthis act on the basis of their own interests and assessments, and proposed that the Islamic Republic take on the role of mediator between the Houthis and Riyadh.

The denial came a day after Raed Krimly, Saudi Arabia's deputy foreign minister for public diplomacy, said on Thursday, 15 October, that the Islamic Republic is encouraging the Houthis to continue the war against Saudi Arabia and is still giving them weapons and training. He also accused the Houthis of refusing in recent weeks to take part in a meeting in Oman.

New Houthi attacks as Tehran issues its denial

At the same time as the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry spokesman was speaking, Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, announced on Friday that three drones had been intercepted over southern Saudi Arabia and Riyadh, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and one ballistic missile over Yanbu. Yanbu, a coastal city on the Red Sea, is the terminal of one of Saudi Arabia's main oil pipelines.

According to the coalition, Riyadh airport has been targeted at least 20 times this month. On Thursday the UN Security Council also condemned in the strongest terms the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the threat to commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

A denial that does not fit the record

The Islamic Republic's claim about the Houthis' independence contradicts years of evidence of Tehran's arms support for the group. New research had also shown that the Houthis are building missiles resembling the Islamic Republic's "Khorramshahr". An offer of mediation from a government itself accused of arming one side in the war is in practice an attempt to show Tehran's influence over the Houthis.

Yemen's civil war has flared up again since this summer, and the Houthis, allies of the Islamic Republic, have since targeted tankers, oil facilities and Riyadh's international airport. At the end of the summer the Houthis also seized, in a new offensive, strategic areas on the Red Sea coast held by Yemen's government. The Saudi-led coalition had earlier said that 20 Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport had left at least 17 dead.

The Islamic Republic denied any role in the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, while the coalition reported intercepting a ballistic missile over Yanbu.