Zarif: Yemen War Will End Up Harming Riyadh

Iran’s Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged Saudi Arabia to end its military campaign in Yemen, saying the war would “bring harm” to the kingdom, Al-Alam TV reports.

Iran has repeatedly condemned a Saudi-led air offensive against Yemeni people.

Zarif’s remarks from Kuwait, where he was attending a meeting of the Islamic Organisation Conference (IOC), was one of Tehran’s most direct attempts yet to engage Persian Gulf Arab countries on the crisis in Yemen.

“We say to our Saudi brothers that we want a brighter future for all countries in the region, and what they are doing in Yemen will end up harming them,” Zarif announced.

In an open letter published in Kuwaiti newspapers, Zarif called for dialogue between Tehran and its Arab neighbors to resolve the region’s crises.

Zarif assured Arab states that Iran had no designs to revive its ancient empire, which spanned a large area of the Middle East, and said an agreement with world powers over a nuclear deal with Tehran would help bring peace to the region.

“Solving this artificial (nuclear) crisis and distancing the region from a military confrontation is in favor of peace … and in the interest of all Muslim states,” he said in the letter.

“Why do you go to Camp David when we are right next to you and want to pursue good relations, and when America does not wish you well and pursues its own interests?” Zarif added.

He also said Tehran wanted good relations with Saudi Arabia but that war would not solve the crisis in Yemen.