IRANIAN PRESENCE IN YEMEN NOT ‘RULED OUT’: SPOKESMAN

Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri did not dismiss the possibility of Iranian forces fighting in Yemen. (File photo: AFP)

Riyadh, 23 Jumadil Akhir 1436/12 April 2015 (MINA) – Saudi Arabia has not “ruled out” the possibility of an Iranian presence in Yemen, the spokesman of the Saudi-led coalition striking Houthi militias in the country said on Saturday.

Speaking at a daily press briefing in the Saudi capital Riyadh, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri said the coalition found evidence of Iranian support to the Houthis and did not dismiss the possibility of Iranian forces fighting in Yemen. Al Arabiya News Channel quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

During his daily press briefing on Operation Decisive Storm, Assiri said airstrikes in Yemen weakened the movement of Houthis and militias loyal to deposed leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The spokesman also said a total of 1,200 air sorties have been carried out since the operation begun 16 days ago.

On Saturday, the airstrikes hit a security headquarters affiliated with Saleh in the in the Yemeni village of Sanhan, Assiri added.

He also noted that Houthi militias are amassing close to the Saudi-Yemeni border and that clashes were reported near the Saudi border city of Najran. (T/P001/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)