Iranian FM meets senior Houthi leader ahead of expected strike by Israel

Meeting in Oman is latest in series of diplomatic trips by Araghchi ahead of Israel’s anticipated response to Tehran’s October 1 ballistic missile attack

This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry shows Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) meeting with spokesman and chief negotiator of Yemen's Hםuthis Mohammad Abdelsalam in Oman's capital Muscat on October 14, 2024.(Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP)
This handout picture provided by the Iranian foreign ministry shows Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (R) meeting with spokesman and chief negotiator of Yemen's Hםuthis Mohammad Abdelsalam in Oman's capital Muscat on October 14, 2024.(Photo by Iranian Foreign Ministry / AFP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Muscat on Monday with Mohammed Abdelsalam, a senior official from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, according to his office.

The Iranian foreign ministry released pictures of their talks during Araghchi’s visit to the Omani capital, the latest in a series of diplomatic trips in the region after Iran attacked Israel on October 1 with some 200 ballistic missiles and Israel vowed to respond.

Tehran said its attack was a retaliation for Israel’s killing of Iranian-backed terror leaders in the region — head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard general Abbas Nilforoushan, also in Beirut, and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the latter.

Araghchi held a “meeting and discussion with Mohammad Abdelsalam, the spokesman and chief negotiator of the Yemen National Salvation Government,” read the photo caption on the released image, referring to the Houthi administration. There was no further information given on the content of the talks.

Yemen’s Houthis, along with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, make up part of Iran’s “axis of resistance” of terror groups arrayed against Israel.

The Houthis have launched missiles and drones at Israel amid the war against Hamas, drawing airstrikes from the IDF targeting Houthi infrastructure in western Yemen. The group has also targeted shipping in the region.

Araghchi’s visit to Muscat came after a trip to Baghdad.

Last week, he visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia, where talks mainly revolved around the regional conflict.

On Sunday, Araghchi claimed that Iran was “fully prepared for a war situation… but we do not want war, we want peace.”

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