Yemen

Iran deputy FM reaffirms political solution to Yemen crisis

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A senior Iranian diplomat has reaffirmed Tehran’s support for a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, calling for an immediate end to the Saudi aggression against its neighbor.

“The crisis [in Yemen] can only be settled through political means, an immediate end to the Saudi military aggression against Yemen and national dialog among all parties to the conflict [to be held] in an impartial country,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs.

The Iranian official made the remarks in a meeting with China’s special envoy on Middle East affairs, Gong Xiaosheng, in Tehran on Tuesday night.

Amir-Abdollahian also said that back-to-back crises in the Middle East, which are fueled by foreign interference, have set the stage for the emergence of new terrorist groups, warning that terrorism is spreading beyond the region to other parts of the world.

He also hailed China’s foreign policy and called on Beijing to play a more active role in preventing the spread of tension in the world.

The Chinese envoy, for his part, pointed to the Middle East developments, including the war in Yemen, and underlined the need to respect the sovereignty of countries when it comes to their political fate.

Gong also called for cooperation among regional countries to find political solutions to the conflicts in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia’s military aggression against Yemen started on March 26, without a UN mandate, in a bid to restore power to fugitive president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Hadi stepped down in January and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Houthi revolutionaries.

Hadi, who is now in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, lost his legitimacy as president of Yemen after he fled the capital to Aden in February, say popular committees backed by Houthis.

The Saudi-led airstrikes have killed hundreds of people and injured thousands more.

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