Gulf countries are making a push for U.N. sanctions to be imposed on the leader of Yemen's Huthi rebels and the ex-president's son, according to a draft resolution that could come up for a vote this week.

Jordan circulated the draft resolution prepared by Gulf states to the Security Council late Monday as Russia stepped up its criticism of the Saudi-led air campaign in Yemen.

The United States has stepped up weapons deliveries in support of a Saudi-led coalition resisting the advance of Shiite rebels in Yemen, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

"Saudi Arabia is sending a strong message to the Huthis and their allies that they cannot overrun Yemen by force," Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in the Saudi capital.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat warned Tuesday of possible “dangerous repercussions” that may result from the anti-Saudi remarks of some Lebanese leaders.

“The magnitude and extent of the statements we heard in Lebanon were not even voiced by the Islamic Republic of Iran itself,” said Jumblat in his weekly editorial in the PSP-affiliated al-Anbaa website.

Pakistan is "not in a hurry" to decide whether to join the Saudi-led coalition against rebels in Yemen, the prime minister said Tuesday, before a round of shuttle diplomacy involving Iran and Turkey.

Nawaz Sharif told a special parliamentary debate on Yemen he thought the diplomatic efforts planned for the coming days would yield results.

The Saudi government on Monday said it hopes a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers can bolster Middle East peace and end interference in Arab affairs.

A statement after the weekly cabinet meeting chaired by King Salman said Saudi Arabia "hopes the agreement will reinforce security and stability in the region and the world."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday he was "dismayed" that a Saudi-led coalition did not consult the U.N. Security Council prior to carrying out strikes in Yemen and urged negotiations to resolve the crisis.

"Right now (the operation) does not have any foundation in international law. Of course we were a little dismayed, to put it mildly, that the operation was begun without any consultations," he said in an interview with RIA-Novosti news agency.

Six more Lebanese truck drivers are on their way to Lebanon, days after they were stranded on the Syrian-Jordanian border after rebels seized the Syrian side, their syndicate said on Monday.

Another eight had arrived in Lebanon on Sunday.

Fierce clashes raged Monday between rebels and loyalists in southern Yemen, leaving more than 140 dead in 24 hours, as the Red Cross faced delays to urgently needed aid deliveries.

Relief workers have warned of a dire situation in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state, where a Saudi-led coalition is waging an air war on the Iran-backed Huthi Shiite rebels.

Saudi Arabia beheaded a citizen for drug trafficking on Monday raising to 57 the number of executions it has carried out so far this year.

Saleh al-Yami was convicted of smuggling hashish and banned narcotic pills and of wounding several policemen, the interior ministry said.

Saudi Arabia has asked Pakistan to contribute aircraft, ships and ground troops to its coalition fighting rebels in Yemen, the Pakistani defense minister said Monday.

Khawaja Asif spoke at the start of a special parliamentary debate on whether to join the Saudi-led military intervention against Shiite Huthi rebels trying to overthrow President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.