‘Iran optimistic Yemen war will end soon’

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says hopes are high that the Saudi military strikes against Yemen will end within hours following diplomatic efforts by the Islamic Republic.

“We are optimistic that we will, within the next hours, witness various Yemeni factions coming together at the negotiating table and making efforts to enhance the political trend in the country,” Amir-Abdollahian said, Fars news agency reported on Tuesday.

An IRNA report, however, has quoted Amir-Abdollahian as saying, “We hope that, within the next one or two days, we will witness an end to the war.”

Amir-Abdollahian made the comments prior to a trilateral meeting between the Iranian, Swiss, and Syrian deputy foreign ministers in Tehran to discuss means for dispatching international humanitarian aid to Syria.

“The developments in Yemen are one of the issues that our country’s diplomatic apparatus is attentive to; and we are optimistic that, following all of the efforts made, we would witness a cessation of the military attacks on Yemen in the coming hours,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

Yemenis walk on a damaged street following a raid by Saudi warplanes on a missile depot on Fajj Attan hill, in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, April 20, 2015. (© AFP)

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a close ally of Riyadh.

According to reports, over 2,700 people have been killed during the aggression.

The humanitarian situation in Yemen is rapidly deteriorating. Many international aid organizations have sought to dispatch medical and other humanitarian supplies by air and sea to civilians in need.

Iranian efforts

Meanwhile, Iran has submitted a four-point peace plan for Yemen to the UN.

In an interview with Press TV, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Gholam-Ali Khoshroo said the plan, which was submitted on April 17, includes a ceasefire and an end to foreign attacks, humanitarian and medical assistance, the resumption of national dialogue, and the creation of a national unity government.