After years of proxy warfare, Saudi Arabia’s secret talks with arch-rival Iran signal a high-wire diplomatic act as it scrambles to rein in Tehran-backed Yemeni rebels, although prospects of a breakthrough look remote.
Iraq has hosted talks between Riyadh and Tehran “more than once”, its President Barham Saleh, an ex-premier of Iraqi Kurdistan, said Wednesday, following reports that a Saudi delegation led by intelligence chief Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan met Iranian officials in Baghdad on April 9.
There is a direct link between Saudi-Iran talks and what is happening in Muscat given the leverage the Iranians have over the Huthis,” Ahmed Nagi, a scholar at Carnegie Middle East Center, told AFP.
“The key question here is: could this round of negotiations put an end to Yemen’s protracted war or lead to just a temporary ceasefire?”
“All efforts are aimed at trying to de-escalate the conflict between Saudis and the Huthis, but there are several layers of conflict… (that will require) long-term and multi-track mechanisms, which seem absent.”
