Iran urges lasting ceasefire, end of blockade in Yemen

A senior Iranian official has called for a lasting ceasefire and an immediate end to human blockade in war-hit Yemen.

“The establishment of a sustainable and lasting ceasefire and removal of human blockade will be key factors to the conclusion of a comprehensive and complete agreement among Yemeni groups,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a telephone conversation with the UN special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, on Friday.

He added that Saudi Arabia’s military attack on Yemen has escalated insecurity in the Middle East and noted that “complex and dangerous” terrorist movements are currently boosting their forces in southern Yemen.

The Iranian diplomat hailed efforts by the UN envoy to mediate talks in Switzerland among warring sides in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

Members of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and representatives loyal to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, reached an agreement in Magglingen, northern Switzerland, on December 17 during UN-mediated talks on a full and immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance to conflict-stricken areas in the south of the impoverished country.