Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani military chiefs to discuss Houthi attacks as Iraq restricts Iranian flights

Baghdad, Iraq. Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani military chiefs are to discuss help for Saudi Arabia as it faces attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. Meanwhile, three more Iraqi airports suspended flights to and from Iran on Friday in line with US pressure, prompting a warning of retaliation from an Iranian official.

Conflict and diplomacy

The Houthis have attacked the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter. Their attacks are part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

The escalation continued this week despite efforts during the UN General Assembly in New York to revive diplomacy. The conflict spread to Lebanon and the Gulf in March before escalating in Yemen in recent weeks.

Flight restrictions

With talks stalled and direct fire between the US and Iran in a lull, Washington shifted to targeting companies in third countries that do business with Iranian firms through “secondary sanctions”.

In response to new US sanctions, neighbouring countries including the United Arab Emirates and Oman barred Iranian airlines on Thursday, the first major impact of the shift. On Friday, the three other Iraqi airports operating flights to and from Iran joined Baghdad airport in suspending them, according to sources and state media.

If sustained, the flight ban could deepen Iran’s isolation and worsen an economic crisis in a country already facing a US blockade of its seaports.

Iranian warning

Mohammad Mokhber, an adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, accused regional countries of “alignment with America” for blocking flights.

“If Iran does not have the possibility to fly and receive airport services, then no country in the region will have this possibility either,” he said in a social media post.

The war, launched by US President Donald Trump alongside Israel, has killed thousands of people and disrupted global trade and energy supplies, adding to inflationary pressures.