Arab Analyst: Talks with Iran Only Way for S. Arabia to Come Out of Yemen Quagmire

Rasa - Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor-in-chief of Rai al-Youm newspaper, referred to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir's recent visit to Iraq, and said Riyadh seeks to end its isolation policy in the region and reach out to Iran with Baghdad's help.

News ID: 427699

Date: 26 February 2017 - 23:39

RNA - "Iraq is the shortest and meantime, the widest route to reach Tehran," Atwan wrote on Sunday.

"Saudi Arabia has understood that Iraq and Iran will play an important role in the future of the region, specially in finding a solution to the crisis in Syria and therefore, Saudi Arabia knows well that talks with Iran is the only way to come out of the Yemen quagmire and Iraq can be a good mediator in this regard," he added.

Atwan concluded that Jubeir's visit to Baghdad may be the result of Saudi Arabia's revision of its regional policies, efforts to end its isolation and admission of the failure of Riyadh's aggressive policies.

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 13,100 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has drove the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.

The UN said earlier this month that almost half a million children in the country are at risk of death from famine as Saudi Arabia’s war in the country completes a second year.

At least seven million people in Yemen are facing starvation as a result of the humanitarian crisis caused by almost two years of war by Saudi Arabia on the country, the UN said.

847/940