TEHRAN, Iran: Iran has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately cease its military aggression in neighboring Yemen, saying it will further escalate the tensions in the region.
“We demand an immediate stop to the Saudi military operations in Yemen,” the Iranian foreign minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said in an interview on Thursday.
The Iranian foreign minister said that the military operations constitute a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and will only lead to bloodshed.
“We will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen,” Zarif said.
His statement came after Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen while according to the Saudi ambassador to the United States Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, the airstrikes were aimed at protecting the people and the legitimate government of Yemen.
Javad Zarif further said that the act of aggression will benefit no country. He also urged the regional and western countries to avoid playing into the hands of terrorists such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Yemen.
Earlier in the day, the Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham also strongly condemned the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
“Resorting to military actions against Yemen, which is already engaged in internal conflict and fighting terrorism, will further complicate the situation, spread the extent of the crisis and squander opportunities to peacefully resolve internal disputes in Yemen,” Afkham said.
Afkham noted that the ongoing onslaught against Yemen will have no outcome other than the spread of terrorism and extremism, and will undermine security in the Middle East.
