Iran has said the latest attack on Riyadh’s main airport, and the wider escalation in Yemen, will only serve Israel’s interests as fighting between Saudi Arabia’s allies and the Houthis spreads deeper into the kingdom.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Tehran is deeply concerned about developments in the Arabian Peninsula, adding that the escalation “will only benefit the Israeli regime”.

His remarks followed a fresh attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that killed one person, reported to be a Pakistani national, and wounded 11 others. It came only hours after media outlets linked to the Houthis reported an air strike on the airport in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, which the group controls.

It was the second strike on the Saudi airport in a matter of days. Attacks over the weekend reportedly killed 14 people and wounded hundreds. The United States, Israel and other countries blamed the Houthis for the earlier strike, although the group has not clearly claimed responsibility.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has since spoken with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and offered Iran’s help in opening dialogue between Riyadh and the Houthis. He warned against pursuing a military solution, which Tehran believes could complicate an already volatile region. Iran backs the Houthis but says it favours a political settlement in Yemen.

The diplomacy comes as the Yemeni government, which Saudi Arabia supports, pushes an offensive to retake territory from the Houthis. A coalition led by Saudi Arabia says it is carrying out a large scale operation against Houthi fighters and their missile capabilities, and government forces claim to have recaptured ground near the Bab el Mandeb Strait.

The United Nations envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned on Friday that the country had returned to full scale war, with civilians bearing the brunt.

The developments also unfold against the wider US and Israeli war on Iran. Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, said Washington had accepted some of Tehran’s seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but described the American response as inadequate.