Why Pakistan is talking to Iran as the Houthi-Saudi fight escalates

Islamabad, Pakistan — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had 2 telephone calls connected Thursday night: 1 with Pakistan’s main of defence forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the different with Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

The calls capped the astir melodramatic week yet successful the Houthi-Saudi war.

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Houthi drones and missiles wounded 73 people and acceptable lipid facilities ablaze successful 4 Saudi cities connected Tuesday, among the heaviest strikes of the war, according to the Saudi-led coalition.

Iran-backed Houthi fighters reached the coastal municipality of Mocha astatine dawn connected Thursday and pushed offshore to seize adjacent islands. By Friday morning, they had grabbed power of each of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Yemeni authorities officials said fighters besides reached Dhubab, connected the Bab al-Mandeb coast, portion boats carrying Houthi fighters reached Mayyun Island, astatine the bosom of the strait, aft authorities forces withdrew.

There has been nary authoritative announcement by Houthi authorities confirming power of the strait.

Brent crude surpassed $107 a tube connected Friday, arsenic the beforehand raised fears that some of Saudi Arabia’s main export routes, the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandeb, could travel nether unit astatine erstwhile — 1 by Iran directly, the different by Tehran’s ally, the Houthis.

Satellite images connected Thursday appeared to amusement a occurrence on the East-West pipeline, Saudi Arabia’s main Hormuz-bypass route, which carries adjacent to 7 cardinal barrels a time implicit 1,200km (746 miles) to Yanbu.

Riyadh has not confirmed a pipeline strike.

Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, warned that the communal defence pact betwixt Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye “will definitely“ beryllium activated if the warring spills further into the kingdom.

But with Munir calling Tehran connected Thursday night, analysts accidental the question is not whether Pakistan is preparing to act, but whether diplomacy is the people Islamabad has already chosen.

Gunmen successful beforehand of a Houthi banner astatine an anti-Saudi rally successful Yemen’s superior Sanaa, July 31, 2026. [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]

A briefing afloat of non-denials

At the Pakistani Foreign Office’s play briefing connected Thursday, spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan declined to corroborate caller reports that Islamabad had passed a Saudi informing to Iran to rein successful the Houthis, calling them “unsubstantiated”.

He was arsenic dismissive of a assertion that Saudi Arabia had asked Pakistan to onslaught Houthi positions successful Yemen, calling it “hypothetical” with “no treatment of this kind”.

But erstwhile asked whether Pakistan was reaching retired to the Houthis done Iran, Khan did not contradict it.

Pakistan would “continue to prosecute dialog and diplomacy for bid and stableness successful the broader region”, Khan said.

Jauhar Saleem, Pakistan’s erstwhile overseas caput and president of the Islamabad-based Institute of Regional Studies, called the phrasing deliberate.

“In diplomacy, what is deliberately not said is arsenic important arsenic what is stated,” helium told Al Jazeera, describing Islamabad’s connection connected the pact arsenic emphasising “deterrence and de-escalation”.

Four trips to Tehran and counting

Pakistan’s subject main Munir has travelled to Tehran 4 times since April. The latest sojourn came past month, days aft a telephone telephone from US President Donald Trump asking Islamabad to lean connected Tehran.

An Iranian root acquainted with the diplomatic contacts told Al Jazeera that telephone diplomacy has intensified since the escalation began.

“Over the past week to 10 days, determination person apt been 3 to 4 telephone conversations betwixt the Pakistani tract marshal and the Iranian overseas minister,” the root said.

“Only 2 were made public, by the Iranian side,” the root added, describing the remainder arsenic successful keeping with Islamabad’s penchant for “silent diplomacy”.

Al Jazeera received nary effect from Pakistani officials to questions connected the unannounced contacts.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, has been speaking separately with his Saudi and Turkish counterparts successful caller days.

“The relation [as mediator betwixt Saudi Arabia and Iran] fits with the pattern, but with overmuch higher stakes,” Saleem said, arguing that Pakistan’s commitments to Riyadh transportation greater hazard than its US-Iran mediation ever did.

An aged script

Pakistan has been present before.

In April 2015, its parliament unanimously rejected a Saudi petition for troops, ships and warplanes to combat the Houthis, resolving that “Pakistan should support neutrality successful the Yemen struggle truthful arsenic to beryllium capable to play a proactive diplomatic relation to extremity the crisis”.

Saleem said present “could airs again the dilemma faced by Pakistan’s overseas argumentation strategists a decennary ago, successful this precise context”.

A person precedent came this year.

When Iran struck Saudi Arabia straight successful February and March, the kingdom successful April announced the arrival of Pakistani forces successful Saudi Arabia, adjacent though Islamabad did not straight participate the conflict.

“This shows that the meaning of the mutual-defence rule successful the bilateral pact, oregon the Mecca pact, is simply a substance calculated by the parties and does not mean the automatic introduction of the parties if an onslaught occurs against the other,” Javad Heiran-Nia, an Iranian expert connected determination security, told Al Jazeera.

A outer representation appears to amusement harm to the King Khalid Airbase successful Saudi Arabia that Houthis said was attacked connected September 8, 2026. The Saudi government’s media bureau did not instantly respond to a petition for comment. [Handout/Planet Labs via Reuters]

How acold tin Pakistan go?

The specifics of what Munir and Araghchi spoke astir connected Thursday nighttime stay unclear.

But expert Heiran-Nia said Pakistan’s relation was clear. “Pakistan has precocious conveyed Saudi Arabia’s informing connection to Iran and asked Tehran to restrain its Houthi allies,” helium told Al Jazeera. “This enactment demonstrates Pakistan’s progressive and operational relation arsenic a connection transmission betwixt the 2 sides.”

On Tehran’s leverage implicit the group, helium was arsenic direct.

“Iran has important power implicit the Houthis, though this power is not implicit and unlimited,” helium said. “It is existent that the Houthis whitethorn successful immoderate cases marque their decisions independently of Iran, but their strategical interests align with Tehran.”

On Friday, aft the Houthis gained power of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, Iranian leaders were speedy to amusement wherever their loyalties lay.

Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref welcomed the “victories of the heroic federation of Yemen,” successful a station connected X.

Mohammad Mokhber, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, was adjacent much nonstop successful claiming power implicit the Houthis, arsenic a portion of Tehran’s alleged Axis of Resistance.

“Congratulations connected this resounding victory, Ansar Allah,” Mokhber posted connected X, referring to the Houthis by their ceremonial name. “Iran’s mightiness successful the Strait of Hormuz and the homegrown resoluteness of the absorption person driven the US and its allies into a tactical and strategical impasse.”

What comes next

Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s erstwhile ambassador to Iran and one-time peculiar typical for Afghanistan, framed Pakistan’s presumption differently.

Under the Mecca pact, helium told Al Jazeera, “the large contented is menace perception”, wherever subordinate states rise concerns and partners respond astatine the petition of the threatened state.

Pakistan, helium said, “has the capableness to spouse with Saudi Arabia successful countering the Houthi threat”.

For the moment, erstwhile ambassador Saleem said, “Riyadh does not request Pakistan to combat immoderate battles”. Pakistan could assistance Saudi Arabia amended “by preventing immoderate determination wars,” pointing to Islamabad’s beardown ties crossed the Gulf Cooperation Council and its channels to Tehran.

But Umer Karim, an expert astatine Riyadh’s King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, suggested a infinitesimal of reckoning for the Pakistan-Saudi narration mightiness beryllium approaching.

“The outgo of inaction is surely increasing,” Karim added, “and yet Pakistan volition beryllium pushed to respond and fulfil its commitments” nether some a bilateral communal defence pact with Saudi Arabia and the trilateral agreement that besides includes Turkiye.

“Riyadh is astir apt for present reevaluating the concern and figuring retired what’s the champion outcome.”