Iran has agreed to cease covert weapons supplies to the Houthis (Ansar Allah) in Yemen as a part of the recent China-brokered agreement with Saudi Arabia, The Wall Street Journal reported on March 16.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced that they reached an agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations after extensive talks in Beijing.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a military coalition against the Houthis, who are allied to Iran, for nearly eight years. The group attacked the Kingdom using precision-guided missiles and suicide drones which were allegedly supplied by Iran on countless occasions during the conflict.

U.S. and Saudi officials told The Wall Street Journal that if Iran stops arming the Houthis, it could put pressure on the group to come to a deal to end the conflict in Yemen

Iran’s approach to the conflict in Yemen will be a “litmus test” for the success of the agreement with Saudi Arabia, on American official said.

The United Nations Yemen mediator Hans Grundberg urged the warring parties on March 15 to “seize the opportunity” to take decisive steps toward peace. The mediator said that momentum to end the conflict had been renewed by the Iranian-Saudi agreement.

“The parties must seize the opportunity presented by this regional and international momentum to take decisive steps towards a more peaceful future,” Grundberg told the 15-member Security Council.

After the release of The Wall Street Journal report, a Saudi official told Al-Arabiya TV that the kingdom’s territory “will not be used for any military operation against Iran in the future.” The official also confirmed the Iranian decision to halt weapons supplies for the Houthis.

The Iranian-Saudi agreement will apparently have a positive impact on the situation in Yemen. Coordinated pressure from Tehran and Riyadh could effectively bring the conflict there to an end. This would be a major achievement to both countries.  

Yemen peace talks intensify after Iran-Saudi deal – UN envoy has visited Tehran and Riyadh after the agreement brokered by China

Diplomatic efforts to broker a peace in Yemen accelerated after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations last week, the UN special envoy Hans Grundberg has reported to the Security Council.

“Intense diplomatic efforts are ongoing at different levels to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end,” Grundberg said on Wednesday, after returning from Tehran and Riyadh. “We are currently witnessing renewed regional diplomatic momentum, as well as a step change in the scope and depth of the discussions.”

Iran has reportedly agreed to stop supplying weapons to the Houthis of Yemen, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing anonymous US and Saudi officials. Tehran has officially denied sending weapons to the Houthis, and the Iranian mission at the UN declined to comment on the claim.

The Houthis are Shia Muslims, just like the Iranians, while the Saudis follow the Salafist branch of Sunni Islam. The US has backed Riyadh’s military involvement in Yemen, labeling the Houthis “Iranian proxies,” which both Tehran and the government in Sanaa have denied.

Last Friday, however, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced they had reached an agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations – which Riyadh severed in 2016 – and work to improve “regional and international peace and security.” The deal itself, as well as China’s role as the mediator, have been widely interpreted as a blow to US influence in the Persian Gulf.

On Sunday, the Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted government officials saying that the deal would help revive a ceasefire, “help start a national dialogue, and form an inclusive national government in Yemen.”

Saudi Arabia and several of its allies began bombing Yemen in March 2015, eventually deploying ground troops to fight against the Houthis, who had overthrown a pro-Saudi president. A tentative ceasefire reached last March officially expired in October, but large-scale hostilities have not resumed. 

The UN estimates the years-long conflict in Yemen has claimed at least 377,000 lives, of which 150,000 were due to violence and the rest from starvation and disease. About four million people have been displaced.

Beijing’s breakthrough in normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran may open the door to peace with the Houthis in Yemen as well RT reports