Iran has not received a response from Saudi Arabia or Yemen's Houthis to its offer to help broker talks to end the fighting between them, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a television interview aired on Tuesday, Reuters reported from Cairo. Araqchi had offered to help facilitate dialogue as the Iran-aligned Houthis intensified their strikes on Saudi Arabia earlier this month, in fighting that has hit Saudi airports and energy facilities and, Saudi authorities say, killed 13 people at Riyadh's international airport on October 10.

In the interview with Iraq's Al Ekhbariya TV, Araqchi also responded to the possibility of Egypt joining Saudi Arabia in the war against the Houthis. 'Any foreign intervention would complicate matters,' he said, adding that Cairo has previously told Tehran that it would 'not directly' interfere in the Yemeni conflict, Reuters reported. Egypt has said it is ready to provide Saudi Arabia with the support it needs to defend its security, potentially raising the stakes in the Middle East; a vote in Egypt's parliament on a possible military move against the Houthis was delayed until October 26, as Awaaz Punjab reported in its companion story on the Egyptian debate.

The offer itself has been on the table for more than a week, and Tehran has repeated it publicly several times. The Associated Press reported on Monday that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei repeated the country's readiness to help settle the conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia through diplomatic means, saying Iran was deeply concerned about the situation in the Arabian Peninsula, that the war only serves Israeli interests, and that Iran does not accept the continuation of conflict between two Islamic nations — the spokesman's stated position, reported as such. The original offer was made in a phone call between Araqchi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in which Tehran said it was ready to provide 'any possible assistance' to initiate dialogue and reach a political settlement, according to Iran's official IRNA news agency; the Saudi Foreign Ministry said at the time that the two ministers discussed 'the recent escalation in the region and the efforts being made to address it'.

The silence from both capitals underlines the trust problem at the centre of the conflict. Saudi Arabia and its allies describe the Houthis as an Iran-backed movement; Tehran says it supports the Houthis politically but does not direct their decisions — each side's position, reported as such. For the Gulf's airports, oil facilities and shipping lanes — and for the lakhs of Indian and Punjabi workers across Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf — whether this unanswered offer, Egypt's delayed October 26 vote, or another round of strikes comes next will shape how wide the Saudi-Houthi war grows.

Sources: Reuters, 'Iran says Saudi Arabia, Houthis have not answered mediation offer', 20 October 2026 (reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Yasmine Ghania); Associated Press, 'Iran says ready to mediate end of war between Houthis and Saudi Arabia', 19 October 2026 (reporting by Samy Magdy in Cairo); IRNA, Iran's official news agency, on the Araqchi-Faisal bin Farhan call and offer, reported via Muslim Network TV, October 2026.