Iran denies being behind Houthi attacks as Aden airport hit

Iran has denied any involvement in an escalation of attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi targets.

The international airport in Yemen’s interim capital Aden was struck by two missiles late on Friday, the second such incident in less than two weeks.

Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the strikes. They said the attack was directed at the headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

Since the start of October, the Houthis have launched more than 20 attacks on airports and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led military coalition reported on Friday having intercepted more missiles and drones as the kingdom comes under sustained attack from the Houthis.

Riyadh has accused Tehran of being behind the Houthi escalation. But on Friday, Iran denied playing any role in the Houthi operations.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.

"Yemen's armed forces act according to their own interests and assessments, and such claims are not credible to those familiar with relations between Iran and its friends. Nevertheless, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party," he added.

Pressure on Riyadh

Since Yemen's civil war flared back to life in July, the pro-Iran Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi targets including Red Sea tankers, oil facilities and Riyadh's international airport, where 13 people were killed in a single attack last week.

Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for public diplomacy, Dr. Rayed Krimly, on Thursday said the Houthis rejected an offer to meet in Oman at the outset of the latest round of hostilities.

Baqaei reiterated an offer to mediate between the two sides, saying Tehran "has always been ready to use its good offices to help end the hostilities."

The Houthi attacks have proliferated since the group launched a lightning offensive in Yemen in September, seizing strategic government-held territory along the Red Sea coast overlooking a major chokepoint for global shipping.

The pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, comes as global energy markets were already rattled by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the outset of the wider Middle East war in February.