FOREIGN MINISTER: SAUDI ARABIA NOT AT WAR WITH IRAN

Riyadh, 24 Jumadil Akhir 1436/13 April 2015 (MINA) – Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal said Sunday that his country was not at war with Iran, calling on Tehran to halt its support for Yemen’s Shia Houthi group.

“We are not at war with Iran,” al-Faisal said in a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius in Riyadh.

He said that Riyadh and its allies have launched a military campaign against the Houthis to defend legitimacy in Yemen, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

“We are fighting alongside a country that has asked for our help to defend legitimacy and halt a war launched by the Houthis to occupy Yemen,” he said.

Since March 25, Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies have been pounding Houthi positions across Yemen.

Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign comes in response to appeals by embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi for military intervention against Houthis.

The Houthis, for their part, have described the offensive as unwarranted “Saudi-American aggression” against Yemen.

“We have heard nothing from Iran in regard to Yemen’s development,” al-Faisal said.

“We only hear from Iran in case of problems. They are doing nothing but to prolong the conflict there.”

Some Gulf States accuse Shia Iran of supporting Yemen’s Houthi insurgency. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)