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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia's most senior cleric accused Iran on Monday of supporting Shiite rebels whose war with the government of neighboring Yemen has spilled across the border and drawn in Saudi firepower.

Yemen and the Saudis have accused Iran of sending money and weapons to the rebels to aid their fight against government forces — a sporadic five-year battle that has intensified dramatically since August. Iran denies the charge.

The rebels prompted the intervention of Saudi warplanes and artillery at the start of this month by attacking a Saudi patrol across the border.

The fighting has raised concerns of another proxy war in the Middle East between the region's dominant Shiite power, Iran, and Sunni rival Saudi Arabia, a key Arab ally of the United States.