Rouhani urges end to Saudi aggression on Yemen

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has called on regional governments, particularly Iraq, to press for an end to the ongoing aggression by Saudi Arabia against Yemen.

In a message to the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday, Rouhani emphasized the need for an immediate stop to the Saudi-led war on Yemen, adding that a dialogue between political factions should be resumed in the Arab country.

There is an urgent need for sending relief aid to the people of the impoverished country, said the Iranian president.

Iran’s First Deputy Foreign Minister Morteza Sarmadi, who submitted the message in a meeting with Abadi, congratulated the Iraqi premier on the Iraqi government’s recent victories against Takfiri militants.

The Iranian official said the recent liberation of the strategic northern city of Tikrit enables the Iraqi government to fully purge its soil of extremist terrorists.

The Iraqi prime minister, in turn, said his country is opposed to any foreign aggression against Yemen, calling for an immediate end to military action and the start of dialogue among different groups in the country.

Abadi said the military action against Yemen further complicates the situation and extends extremism and terrorism to other parts of the Middle East and the world.

Saudi Arabia unleashed deadly aerial assaults against Yemen on March 26 without a UN mandate. The attacks have killed about 200 people so far.

There have been increase warnings that the Saudi-led attacks, which are aimed at undermining the Houthi Ansarullah movement, could strengthen the grip of terrorist groups across Yemen.