Washington: A remarkable clash between two key US allies in the Middle East burst into the open here on Wednesday as the Iraqi prime minister publicly criticized the Saudi air campaign in Yemen and a top Saudi official retorted that there was “no logic to those remarks.”

The exchange, driven by sharply opposing views of Iran in the region, reflected the challenges facing the Obama administration as it tries to hold together a diverse coalition, including Sunni Arab states and Shiite-dominated Iraq, in the fight against Daesh. Iran is a sometimes patron to Iraq but an ideological archrival to Saudi Arabia.

The United States remains caught in a difficult balancing act as it tries to keep the Saudi air campaign in Yemen on track against Iranian-backed Houthis. But in its fight against the Islamic State in Iraq, the Obama administration finds itself supporting an Iraqi military offensive that is also backed by Iran.

The dueling Iraqi and Saudi narratives began when Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi of Iraq, who this week is making his first official visit to Washington, spoke early in the day to a small group of reporters at Blair House, the White House guest residence for visiting dignitaries. He said the Saudi campaign and the fighting in Yemen had created huge humanitarian problems.

“There is no logic to the operation at all in the first place,” Al Abadi said. “Mainly, the problem of Yemen is within Yemen.”

Al Abadi, who is in Washington seeking US military help in the fight against Daesh as well as billions of dollars to shore up his sagging economy, then suggested that the Obama administration agreed with him in his concerns about the Saudi campaign.

“They want to stop this conflict as soon as possible,” Al Abadi said. “What I understand from the administration, the Saudis are not helpful on this. They don’t want a cease-fire now.”

The administration swiftly denied that President Barack Obama had expressed concern about the Saudi air campaign during a meeting with Al Abadi on Tuesday at the White House.

“The president did not criticize Saudi or GCC actions in Yemen,” said Alistair Baskey, a spokesman for the National Security Council, using the acronym for the Gulf Cooperation Council.

At the same time, Baskey said, Obama had conveyed his view to the Iraqi prime minister “that this not escalate into a broader conflict and that ultimately Yemen’s conflict can only be settled through a political negotiation.”

In his remarks to reporters, Al Abadi also said he was worried that Saudi air strikes might be a precursor for a more assertive Saudi military role in neighboring states.

“The dangerous thing is we don’t know what the Saudis want to do after this,” Al Abadi said. “Is Iraq within their radar? That’s very, very dangerous. The idea that you intervene in another state unprovoked just for regional ambition is wrong. Saddam has done it before. See what it has done to the country.”

A few hours later Adel Al Jubeir, the Saudi ambassador to Washington, held a news conference at the Saudi Embassy and made his remarks about Al Abadi in response to questions from reporters, some of whom had met with Al Abadi at Blair House.

In addition to saying that there was “no logic” to Al Abadi’s remarks, Al Jubeir set forth a highly positive picture of the Saudi campaign in Yemen. He said that the bombing had destroyed attack planes, helicopters, ballistic missiles, air defenses and command elements. But he gave no precise figures.

Saudi officials have insisted that their air strikes, which they named Operation Decisive Storm, have been effective in weakening Al Houthi militia.

Al Jubeir rejected as “false” reports that Saudi bombers had accidentally killed numerous civilians in some of their airstrikes, and said Saudi Arabia had taken measures to minimize risks to Yemeni civilians.

The air campaign has also created fissures among Al Houthi and loyalists to the former Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al Jubeir said the bombing had prompted some senior Yemeni officers - he did not say how many - to abandon Saleh.

“We’re beginning to see cracks in their leadership,” Al Jubeir said.

The ambassador dismissed Al Abadi’s claim that US officials were worried about the goals and conduct of the air campaign, saying that no American official had complained to him about it.