Pakistani Army Chief reportedly urged Iran to convince the Yemeni Houthis to not attack Saudi Arabian energy facilities, according to Kan's Kais

Backchannel efforts of this kind fit a recurring pattern around Gulf energy security: attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure have historically been the single largest upside risk to crude in the region, with past strikes on processing facilities producing sharp but often short-lived price spikes that faded as output was restored faster than feared. The read here is that an intermediary with established ties to Tehran is being used to de-escalate, and such third-party channels have on previous occasions preceded pauses in attacks, though they have also repeatedly broken down. The distinction that matters for crude is between attacks on shipping, which lift freight and insurance costs and add a modest risk premium, and attacks on processing and export infrastructure, which threaten physical supply directly; the headline concerns the latter, the more consequential case. Pakistan's involvement is notable as a signal of how widely the diplomatic net is being cast rather than as a change in capability. What tends to confirm or kill the story is follow-through: any Houthi statement, Saudi air defence activity, and whether tanker insurance and prompt spreads respond. As a single-sourced report of a private request, it is a soft signal until corroborated.