Tehran: Iran on Friday rejected Saudi Arabia's allegations that it had encouraged a fresh wave of Houthi attacks against the kingdom, as the escalating conflict in Yemen saw further missile strikes on airports and military installations.

The denial came a day after a senior Saudi official accused Tehran of encouraging the Iran-aligned Houthi movement to intensify its attacks on Saudi territory.

Since Yemen's civil war reignited in July, the Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi infrastructure, including oil facilities, Red Sea tankers and Riyadh's international airport. An attack on the airport last week killed 13 people.

The latest escalation has heightened security concerns across the region, with Saudi Arabia reporting fresh interceptions of missiles and drones and Yemeni authorities accusing the Houthis of targeting civilian aviation facilities.

Iran rejects accusations, offers mediation

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei dismissed claims that Tehran had played any role in the Houthi operations.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni (Houthi) operations," Baqaei said in a statement.

"Yemen's armed forces act according to their own interests and assessments, and such claims are not credible to those familiar with relations between Iran and its friends. Nevertheless, Iran does not consider an escalation of tensions to be in the interests of any party," he added.

The statement followed remarks by Saudi Arabia's deputy minister for public diplomacy, Dr Rayed Krimly, who alleged that Iran had "encouraged" the recent escalation.

Krimly also said the Houthis had rejected a proposal to hold talks in Oman when the latest round of hostilities began.

Despite rejecting Riyadh's accusations, Tehran reiterated its willingness to facilitate dialogue between the warring sides.

Baqaei said Iran "has always been ready to use its good offices to help end the hostilities".

Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles and drones

The Saudi-led military coalition, which has supported Yemen's internationally recognised government for more than a decade, reported intercepting several aerial threats on Friday.

A coalition spokesman said Saudi forces had "intercepted and destroyed three drones in the southern area and Riyadh... and two cruise missiles over the Red Sea".

He added that "in the past hours, we intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile over Yanbu".

Yanbu, a major port city on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, houses the terminal of a crucial oil pipeline, making it strategically important to the kingdom's energy infrastructure.

The latest interceptions came amid sustained Houthi attacks on Saudi territory, raising concerns about the security of oil installations and shipping routes.

The escalation follows a rapid Houthi offensive in September that saw the group capture strategic government-held territory along Yemen's Red Sea coastline.

The newly seized areas overlook a vital maritime passage used by international shipping, adding to fears of further disruption to global trade.

The attacks have also increased pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, at a time when international energy markets are already facing uncertainty following Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the wider Middle East conflict in February.

Missiles strike Aden airport, passenger flight narrowly escapes

Meanwhile, two missiles struck within the perimeter of Aden's airport on Friday, marking another attack on critical infrastructure in the Yemeni government's interim capital.

Aden's local security office described the strike as "in the second incident of its kind in less than a week" and confirmed that no fatalities had been reported.

The Houthis, citing a military source, claimed the operation had targeted "the Saudi forces' command headquarters" and a weapons depot.

However, Yemen's information ministry said a civilian passenger aircraft had narrowly escaped being hit.

According to the ministry, a Yemenia Airways flight bound for Cairo was preparing to depart when the missiles struck near the runway.

The aircraft was "preparing for takeoff at the very moment when the terrorist Houthi militia targeted the airport with two missiles that landed approximately 500 metres from the aircraft and about 100 metres from the centre of the runway," the ministry said.

"What occurred was not merely an assault on a civilian airport, but a direct threat to the lives of passengers and flight crews, to aviation safety, and a grave violation of international laws and norms."

The incident raised fresh concerns over the safety of civilian flights operating from Aden as fighting intensifies between the Houthis and government forces.

Deadly attack on presidential palace

The airport strike came just a day after a missile attack on the presidential palace complex in Aden killed five people and injured 16 others.

Yemen's health minister confirmed the casualties following Thursday's attack.

Prime Minister Shaya al-Zindani condemned the strike as a "cowardly" act in a post on X, describing it as a "continuation of (the Houthis') criminal pattern".

A Yemeni government minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the missiles had struck command centres used by Yemeni and Saudi coalition forces within the palace complex.

Houthi-affiliated media, meanwhile, reported that the operation had targeted "the headquarters of military operations, led by Saudi officers, at the Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden".

The conflicting accounts underscored the growing intensity of the confrontation as both sides continued military operations.

Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi air power, have launched a counteroffensive to reclaim territory captured by the Houthis during their September offensive.

However, the operation has so far failed to reverse the group's territorial gains, leaving key areas along the Red Sea coast under Houthi control.

The renewed fighting threatens to deepen Yemen's prolonged conflict while adding another source of instability to a Middle East already grappling with a wider regional war and disruptions to international energy supplies.