Why Pakistan is talking to Iran as the Houthi-Saudi fight escalates
Pakistan faces growing pressure to honour its Saudi defence commitments while keeping diplomatic channels to Iran open.
Islamabad, Pakistan — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had two phone calls on Thursday night: one with Pakistan’s chief of defence forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the other with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Houthi drones and missiles wounded 73 people and set oil facilities ablaze in four Saudi cities on Tuesday, among the heaviest strikes of the war, according to the Saudi-led coalition.
Iran-backed Houthi fighters reached the coastal town of Mocha at dawn on Thursday and pushed offshore to seize nearby islands. By Friday morning, they had grabbed control of all of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Yemeni government officials said fighters also reached Dhubab, on the Bab al-Mandeb coast, while boats carrying Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island, at the heart of the strait, after government forces withdrew.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has been speaking separately with his Saudi and Turkish counterparts in recent days.