With the Iran-Saudi accord, Yemen peace negotiations have accelerated.

Diplomatic efforts to broker a peace in Yemen have accelerated after Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations last week. The UN special envoy Hans Grundberg has reported to the Security Council that intense diplomatic efforts are ongoing at different levels to bring the conflict in Yemen to an end. Iran has reportedly agreed to stop supplying weapons to the Houthis of Yemen, and the Iranian mission at the UN declined to comment on the claim. Saudi Arabia and several of its allies began bombing Yemen in March 2015, eventually deploying ground troops to fight against the Houthis, who had overthrown a pro-Saudi president. The UN estimates the years-long conflict in Yemen has claimed at least 377,000 lives, of which 150,000 were due to violence and the rest from starvation and disease.

About four million people have been displaced. The US has backed Riyadh's military involvement in Yemen, labeling the Houthis "Iranian proxies." The deal itself, as well as China's role as the mediator, have been widely interpreted as a blow to US influence in the Persian Gulf.