Archive · 10 Sep 2026
Pakistan Warns Iran as Houthi Attacks Escalate in Saudi Arabia
The Houthis, a group fighting in Yemen, attacked places in Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones.
The attacks reportedly hit an airbase and energy facilities.
Seventy-three people, including women and children, were hurt.
Pakistan told Iran to use its influence to stop the Houthi attacks.
Pakistan has a security agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Pakistan’s defence minister said the agreement could be activated if fighting spreads into Saudi Arabia.
Pakistani officials said any help would mainly protect Saudi territory, not involve fighting inside Yemen.
Iran’s officials gave different accounts about whether Tehran controls the Houthis.
The countries are trying to stop the fighting from becoming a much larger regional war.
Houthi attacks on a Saudi airbase and energy facilities reportedly wounded 73 people, including women and children.
Pakistan urged Iran to restrain the Houthis, warning that further spillover into Saudi Arabia could activate its security pact with Türkiye.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye reportedly agreed that their forces would not enter Yemen and that any response would come from Saudi territory.
Pakistani sources said any military assistance would be defensive, potentially including technical, ground or air support inside Saudi Arabia.
Accounts of Saudi airstrikes differed, with Houthi claims ranging from 32 strikes across four regions to 54 strikes over 12 hours; Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the claims.
- Who
- The Houthi movement, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran and Türkiye are the principal parties discussed; Saudi-backed Yemeni forces are also fighting the Houthis.
- What
- Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified, prompting Pakistan to warn Iran and discuss possible defensive support for Saudi Arabia.
- When
- The latest Saudi attacks occurred on Tuesday, while Houthi claims of Saudi airstrikes were issued on Wednesday; the broader offensive reportedly began the previous week.
- Where
- The fighting is centered in Yemen, including areas west of Taiz and near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, while Houthi attacks targeted Saudi locations including Khamis Mushait, Abha and Jazan.
- Why
- Pakistan and regional officials are seeking to prevent the Houthi-Saudi conflict and the wider Saudi-Iranian proxy confrontation from becoming a broader regional crisis.
Pact activation could expand support
Pakistan may keep involvement limited
Meaning of spillover
Pact activation could expand support
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said unprovoked aggression or spillover from Yemen into Saudi Arabia would make the agreement operational.
Pakistan may keep involvement limited
Asif also said Pakistan would honor the pact only if a need arose, while a regional diplomat said Islamabad would pursue a diplomatic solution for now.
Scope of military involvement
Pact activation could expand support
The pact could allow Pakistan to provide military, technical, ground or air support inside Saudi Arabia if the kingdom required protection.
Pakistan may keep involvement limited
Pakistani sources said no decision had been made to join retaliatory strikes and that Pakistani forces would not conduct combat operations on foreign soil.
Iran’s relationship with the Houthis
Pact activation could expand support
Two Iranian sources said Tehran instructed the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia, promised additional funding and weapons, and sent Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commanders to Yemen to help coordinate the attacks.
Pakistan may keep involvement limited
A senior Iranian official said Iran does not control the Houthis, creating a direct contradiction over Tehran’s responsibility for the attacks.
- Reported injuries
- Seventy-three people, including women and children, were reportedly wounded in the Houthi attacks.
- Reported Saudi airstrikes
- The Houthis reported 54 Saudi airstrikes over 12 hours in one account and 32 strikes across four Yemeni regions in another; Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the claims.
- Reported deaths
- More than 500 people were reportedly killed after the Houthi offensive began the previous week.
- Saudi targets
- Reported targets included an airbase, energy facilities and sites associated with Saudi Aramco; fires temporarily halted some operations.
- Pakistan’s warning
- Pakistan urged Iran to restrain the Houthis and warned that unprovoked aggression or spillover into Saudi Arabia could activate the trilateral security arrangement.
- Military limits
- Pakistani sources said any support would be limited to protecting Saudi territory, with no Pakistani troops entering Yemen or conducting combat operations there.
- Pact members
- The security arrangement involves Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye and treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all three.
