The Obama administration is quietly ramping up pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop bombing Iran-backed rebels in Yemen and engage in peace talks toward a political solution to the nation’s conflict.

While Pentagon officials have said they are still backing the now month-old Saudi bombing campaign against on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, the White House is increasingly signaling a desire for the campaign to come to an end.

“There is no military solution to the crisis in Yemen, and the humanitarian situation will only worsen if the conflict continues,” President Obama’s National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice said on Wednesday night.

Speaking before the Arab American Institute’s Annual Kahlil Gibran Gala in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Rice said the administration is “working with all parties to end the violence so that U.N.-led political negotiations can resume promptly and humanitarian access can be restored.”

Her comments underscored the sensitive diplomatic line being toed by the administration the Middle East, where the region’s main Sunni Arab powers — namely Saudi Arabia — are wary of Washington’s growing closeness to Iran.

On one hand, the administration is pushing for a major detente with Iran through the ongoing pursuit of a nuclear deal with Iranian leaders. On the other, the administration is backing the Saudi Arabia’s war against the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Wahshington Times