Iran FM:

Yemen war detrimental to Saudis

Rasa - Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen will be to the detriment of Riyadh officials.

News ID: 2598

Date: 28 May 2015 - 01:38

RNA - “Airstrikes against the Yemeni people won't help settle problems and conflicts,” Zarif told reporters in Kuwait on Tuesday on the sidelines of the 42nd annual meeting of foreign ministers of member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The invasion has been of no use to Saudi Arabia and only created hatred among the Yemeni people, said the top Iranian diplomat.

He said Iran seeks a brighter future for all regional nations, adding Riyadh’s aggression against Yemen would be detrimental to Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 without a United Nations mandate.

The Saudi airstrikes aim to weaken the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Saudi Arabia.

Since March,the UN says, nearly 2,000 people have been killed and 7,330 others injured due to the conflict in Yemen. However, according to Yemen's Freedom House Foundation, the Saudi airstrikes have claimed the lives of about 4,000 Yemeni people.

Zarif said Iran has proposed four issues to settle the crisis in Yemen, including the establishment of a ceasefire, the dispatch of humanitarian aid, the holding of intra-Yemeni dialog and the formation of an inclusive national unity government.

He called on foreign countries to help settle the ongoing crisis in war-wracked Yemen rather than hamper the process.

In a letter to the UN secretary general on April 17, the Iranian foreign minister submitted a four-point peace plan in an effort to put an end to the bloodshed in Yemen.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif said all regional countries must forge collective cooperation to tackle the increasing challenges in the region.

“Dialog and understanding with regional countries is a priority on Iran’s foreign policy,” he added.

He noted that sectarian discord, terrorist groups such as the ISIL and war are common threats against all countries in the region.

Iran is keen to have close relations with member states of the [Persian Gulf] Cooperation Council, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the minister pointed out.

Zarif also reaffirmed Iran’s support for the Iraqi nation and government, particularly in the fight against the ISIL Takfiri terrorist group.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been the scene of clashes since ISIL started its campaign of terror in the Arab country in early June 2014.

Saudi Arabia is seen as a staunch supporter of ISIL in Syria and Iraq.

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