Iran-Saudi talks on Yemen’s Houthis: What’s in it for Tehran?

Iran has offered to facilitate talks between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthi group after a series of deadly attacks on the kingdom, raising questions about Tehran’s diplomatic calculations as fighting intensifies across the region.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Sunday, in their first publicly reported contact since the Iran-aligned Houthis stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3World condemns deadly Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh airportlist 2 of 3Fear and uncertainty for civilians as Yemen’s capital comes under attacklist 3 of 3Why are Houthi missiles breaking through Saudi Arabia’s air defences?end of listThe diplomatic outreach comes after strikes on Riyadh’s international airport over the weekend killed 14 people and wounded hundreds, while Saudi-backed forces continued their offensive against the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah, in Yemen.The talks also come against the backdrop of the wider US-Israel war on Iran, with Tehran potentially seeking to avoid being dragged into another confrontation.“Tehran is an ally of Ansar Allah and has influence w...