Iran has offered to help launch talks between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels as increasing attacks on the kingdom and renewed airstrikes on Yemen threaten to deepen the regional conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the offer during a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Sunday evening, according to a statement from Iran's foreign ministry.
Araghchi expressed Tehran's readiness to provide all forms of assistance to facilitate dialogue between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthis and support efforts to reach a political settlement.
The two ministers also discussed the latest regional developments, with Araghchi expressing concern over rising tensions and warning that continued reliance on military action would further complicate the situation.
He stressed that the region's crises could not be resolved through military means and urged greater emphasis on political solutions.
Separately, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry confirmed the call on Sunday, saying the two ministers had discussed the latest regional escalation and efforts to address it.
However, the Saudi statement provided no further details about the diplomatic initiatives discussed or whether any agreements had been reached.
The diplomatic contact came amid intensifying hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, including repeated missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi airports.
A recent Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed at least 12 people and injured 309 others, while Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia has also been targeted.
On Sunday evening, the Saudi-led coalition reported another attack on King Khalid International Airport, saying an unidentified projectile struck Terminal 4 and sparked a fire.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on X that emergency crews were working to contain the blaze. He subsequently announced that Saudi air defences had intercepted and destroyed a cruise missile near the airport.
Meanwhile, airstrikes targeted two districts of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, around midnight on Monday, according to the Houthis.
The group's media centre said the strikes hit the Hamdan and Thourah districts and blamed Saudi Arabia for the attacks, although it provided no further details.
The strikes come amid renewed military operations by the Saudi-led coalition and Yemeni government forces against Houthi positions in Sanaa, Taiz and areas surrounding the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The intensifying confrontation coincides with growing threats to maritime security elsewhere in the region.
India's foreign ministry said on Monday that two Indian sailors were missing after a drone struck the commercial tanker MT PETRO DOLPHIN near the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
The vessel was carrying 11 Indian crew members when it was attacked.
A second tanker, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT VALTHERA, was also struck by an unidentified projectile, causing a fire on board. All 11 Indian sailors aboard that vessel were reported safe.
India condemned the attacks on commercial shipping, warning that they risked further destabilising an already volatile region.
The latest developments have also prompted calls for greater security cooperation among Gulf states.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates leadership, called on Monday for joint Gulf action to counter attacks by Iran and its allied groups.
He warned that attacks on Saudi Arabia threatened the security of the UAE and other Gulf countries, stressing that their security was indivisible.