Saudi Arabia has demanded guaranteed free passage through the Strait of Hormuz and backed Pakistani mediation, as Israeli officials warned the situation with Iran could deteriorate within hours, prompting airport contingency measures.
Summary:
- Saudi Arabia called for the restoration of freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to its status prior to 28 February, and demanded guarantees for safe and unrestricted passage of vessels, per the Saudi Foreign Ministry
- Riyadh urged all parties to exercise restraint and voiced support for Pakistani mediation efforts amid ongoing regional tensions, according to the Saudi Foreign Ministry statement
- Saudi Arabia called for a political solution to the conflict that would prevent further regional destabilisation, per the Foreign Ministry
- Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport has been placed on high alert in preparation for a possible closure of Israeli airspace and the potential evacuation of aircraft, according to Channel 14
- The Israeli Airport Authority and Ministry of Transportation have conducted situational assessments in recent hours, per the report
- Israeli security officials warned that the situation with Iran could deteriorate rapidly, potentially within a matter of hours, according to Channel 14
Main article:
Saudi Arabia has issued its most direct public intervention on the Strait of Hormuz to date, demanding guaranteed and unrestricted passage for vessels through the waterway and calling for a return to the navigational conditions that existed before 28 February. The statement, issued by the Saudi Foreign Ministry, came alongside an endorsement of Pakistani mediation efforts and a broader call for regional restraint, reflecting Riyadh’s acute unease as the conflict between Iran and Israel continues to deepen.
The Saudi position is significant on multiple levels. As the world’s largest oil exporter, the kingdom has an existential interest in Hormuz remaining open. Roughly a third of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the strait, and any sustained disruption threatens not only Saudi export revenues but the broader architecture of Gulf energy commerce that underpins Riyadh’s economic transformation programme. By demanding a return to pre-conflict navigational norms and publicly backing Pakistani mediation, Saudi Arabia is signalling that it regards the current trajectory as untenable and is prepared to lean on whatever diplomatic channel remains viable.
Pakistan’s involvement as a potential mediator is notable. Islamabad maintains functional relationships with both Tehran and Riyadh, giving it a rare degree of access at a moment when direct communication between the principal parties has become severely constrained. Whether Pakistani mediation can gain sufficient traction to produce even a limited confidence-building measure on Hormuz remains deeply uncertain, but Saudi Arabia’s public endorsement gives the effort a degree of legitimacy it would otherwise lack.
The diplomatic signals from Riyadh, however, are running directly against the security assessment emerging from Israel. Ben Gurion Airport has been placed on high alert, with the Airport Authority and Ministry of Transportation conducting situational assessments in recent hours in preparation for a possible closure of Israeli airspace and the potential evacuation of aircraft. The measures are contingency-based, but their very activation reflects how seriously Israeli security officials are treating the near-term threat picture.
Most starkly, those officials have warned that the situation with Iran could deteriorate rapidly, potentially within a matter of hours. That framing sits in sharp contrast to the weeks or months that any mediation process would require to produce results. It suggests that whatever diplomatic runway Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are attempting to create, Israeli and Iranian military timelines may not allow it to be used.
For energy markets, the two developments in combination present a particularly uncomfortable picture. Saudi Arabia’s public intervention on Hormuz underscores how serious the disruption has already become, while Israel’s airport contingency planning raises the prospect of a sudden, sharp escalation that would render current risk premiums inadequate. The gap between the pace of diplomacy and the pace of potential military escalation has rarely looked wider.
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Saudi Arabia’s explicit demand for a return to pre-conflict Hormuz navigation conditions signals Riyadh is growing increasingly uncomfortable with the economic exposure the waterway’s disruption creates for its own export revenues and regional standing. The Pakistani mediation endorsement opens a diplomatic channel that, if it gains traction, could provide a de-escalation framework that markets are currently not pricing. However, the Israeli airport authority’s contingency preparations point in the opposite direction, suggesting security officials believe the conflict could deteriorate far faster than diplomatic timelines allow
