Hours before Saudi Arabia officially announced the end of Operation Decisive Storm, the military operation against the Houthis in Yemen, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein-Amir Abdollahian expressed his optimism “that due to our efforts,” a cease-fire would be reached in the coming hours.

The cease-fire has been reached, and as is the case with most wars in the region, both the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition are celebrating their victory. So are the Iranians, who raised the stakes so high during the past three weeks that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is known for being cautious in his speeches, warned Riyadh that its nose was going to be rubbed in the mud of Yemen.

What happened in the last few hours before the cease-fire?

According to an Iranian official who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, “If this war continued for a few days more, it would have been very difficult to reach a cease-fire.” He explained, “Ansar Allah was keen not to take the battle to another stage. Yet if the Saudis continued this way, they would cross the red lines they drew for themselves. This is what was conveyed to the Saudis through mediators.”