Pakistan Warns Iran to Keep the Houthis Away from Saudi Arabia– www.breitbart.com
News Source
EXCERPT:
Pakistan delivered a warning to Iran on Wednesday that if Tehran’s terrorist proxies in Yemen, the Houthis, continue attacking cities and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan may be obliged to intervene under its defense pact with the Saudis.
Pakistan gave notice to Iran the day after Houthi insurgents launched drone and missile attacks against four cities in Saudi Arabia, damaging oil infrastructure and wounding dozens of civilians.
Saudi forces, working with the internationally-recognized government of Yemen, responded with airstrikes and ground action against the Houthis, who captured Yemen’s capital city of Sanaa and much other territory in 2014.
In a television interview on Wednesday, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that further Houthi attacks could trigger the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a pact Pakistan signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey in August. The pact includes a mutual defense commitment similar to NATO Article V.
“An aggression on one country will be considered an aggression on all three countries,” Asif said. “There is no ambiguity or doubt. Unprovoked aggression or spillover into Saudi Arabia will definitely make this agreement operational.”
A senior diplomatic source told Reuters the Pakistani government conveyed this message to Tehran privately within the past 24 hours, and advised the Iranians to pull the Houthis back from attacking Saudi Arabia. The response from Tehran was reportedly: “Iran does not control the Houthis.”
