Araghchi says there is no military solution in Yemen or Bab el-Mandeb, offers Iran a constructive role

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, 25 July 2026 (3 Mordad 1405), in an interview with the state-run Iran Daily newspaper, that the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement has no military solution. "We believe that there is no military solution to the issue of Yemen, Bab al-Mandeb, and other regional issues," he said.

Araghchi added that the situation in Yemen "cannot be attributed to Iran" and that tensions around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait are "rooted in old disputes and issues between Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region." He said Yemen is under a siege and that the Houthis' actions are aimed, in their own framing, at breaking a blockade they attribute to Saudi Arabia. Iran has offered to play a constructive role if talks develop between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and Saudi officials are aware of that offer, he said: "We believe the knot of Yemen can be untied by hand, that is, through diplomacy and dialogue, and there's no need for tension and military confrontation."

The Houthi-Saudi conflict, largely frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022, flared this month after the Houthis declared a blockade of Saudi ports and claimed attacks on tankers. A Houthi spokesman said on Friday the group was not blocking traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait generally, and that the blockade "only affects the Saudi side."