SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

Peace in Palestine = Peace in the World

ADVERTISEMENT

SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

IRAN VOWS TO END SAUDI-LED AIR STRIKES ON YEMEN REBELS

Rudi Hendrik - Thursday, 16 April 2015 - 05:51 WIB

Thursday, 16 April 2015 - 05:51 WIB

346 Views ã…¤

More than 121,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen since the start of Saudi-led coalition air strikes. (Photo: RIA Novosti/Maksim Blinov)
More than 121,000 people have been displaced inside <a href=

Yemen since the start of Saudi-led coalition air strikes. (Photo: RIA Novosti/Maksim Blinov)" width="343" height="193" /> More than 121,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen since the start of Saudi-led coalition air strikes. (Photo: RIA Novosti/Maksim Blinov)

Lisboa, Portugal, 27 Jumadil Akhir 1436/16 April 2015 (MINA) – Iran has said it will use all its influence to broker a peace deal for Yemen in order to end Saudi-led air strikes against the Houthi rebels.

“We are a major force in the region and we have relations with all groups in various countries, and we are going to use that in order to bring everybody to the negotiating table, to the point that we can,” Mohammed Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday, Al Jazeera quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Zarif, who was visiting Portugal, said efforts to bring peace to Yemen must “start with the right premise, that we need to end this bombardment and all the bloodshed, and prevent al-Qaeda from taking advantage of this nasty situation”.

“We have influence with a lot of groups in Yemen, not just the Houthis and the Shias,” he said.

Also Read: Israeli Navy Attacks Gaza Aid Flotilla, Kidnaps 317 Activists

Zarif’s comments came a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution imposing an arms embargo on the Shia rebels, the second to be passed this year.

The resolution, put forward by Jordan and Gulf Arab countries, also requires the rebels, known as Houthis, to withraw from places they control, including the capital Yemen.

Houthi fighters – widely believed to be backed by Iran – swept into Sanaa in September and have since tried to expand their control across Yemen, which is also battling al-Qaeda’s local branch, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

The Houthis put President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi under house arrest in February, demanding he carry out political reforms.

Also Read: Observer Vessel Summertimes-Jong Diverts to Cyprus After Being Denied Port Entry in Egypt

Hadi has since fled to Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia, which says it launched the air strikes against the Houthis to help defend a “legitimate authority” and has rejected Iran’s calls to halt the bombardment.

Zarif said that Iran had already consulted with Turkey and Pakistan, two majority-Sunni allies of Saudi Arabia, and Oman, the Gulf country that maintains the closest ties with Iran. None has joined the Saudi-led air campaign against the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-ruled Gulf powers accuse Iran of arming the Houthis and interfering in Yemen’s affairs. Tehran denies giving the Houthis military support.

On Tuesday, Zarif had outlined a four-point peace plan comprising a ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, an intra-Yemeni dialogue and the establishment of a broad-based government.

Also Read: Breakaway Boat of Global Sumud Flotilla Enters Gaza Waters

Zarif urged an end to what he called “an aerial bombardment against the people of Yemen”, saying there were “hardly any military targets in Yemen”. (T/P001/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

Also Read: 223 Activists of Global Sumud Flotilla Detained by Israeli Naval Forces

Recommendation for you

International
Most countries walk out of UN General Assembly session during Netanyahu's speech (Photo by Mostafa Bassim)
International
Palestine
A high-level meeting on the Gaza situation took place in New York on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 attended by US President Donald Trump, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and other regional leaders (photo: Anadolu Agency)
International
America