Iran supports any peace plan in Yemen: Foreign Ministry

Political Desk

Iran’s Foreign Ministry in a statement on Tuesday stressed that Tehran will support any peace plan to end the ongoing war against Yemen.

The statement was released on the anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition’s military invasion against Yemen in March 2015, IRNA reported.

Iran favors an end to the occupation of Yemen and lifting the economic siege of the country, initiating political dialogue and letting the Yemeni people determine their own future, said the statement.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies waged the Yemen war in March 2015 with the aim of reinstating a Riyadh-friendly regime.

The Saudi-led war, which has been accompanied by a full blockade on Yemen, has killed tens of thousands of people and taken a heavy toll on the Arab country’s infrastructure.

The UN has described the situation as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

According to the Foreign Ministry statement, 24 million people in Yemen have been targeted over the past six years of the siege and military invasion of Yemen, and scores more are dying every day from bombardment or hunger, disease, lack of medication or fuel.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry expressed regret that the invasion of Yemen did not stop even for a moment despite the outbreak of the coronavirus disease.

Although there are numerous claims that all support for the aggression has stopped, the sale of weapons to the aggressor coalition and even the technical support needed for these weapons continues, the statement said, adding that military experts from some countries are serving the Saudis in their massacre and crimes against the Yemeni people.

Iran has always been reiterating that the Yemeni crisis has no military solution, the statement said.

It added that the establishment of a simultaneous ceasefire and lifting the siege would pave the way for dialogue.

On March 15, the spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement said the US administration is not sincere in its calls for the restoration of peace to the country, stressing that Washington must make the Saudi-led invaders end their aggression and siege against Yemen to set the stage for a real political process.

“It is unacceptable for [the United States of] America to chant the slogan of human rights and express concern over the worsening humanitarian conditions in Yemen as a result of the [Saudi-led] aggression and siege, and then make that (humanitarian issues) subject to military and political bargaining,” Mohammed Abdul-Salam wrote in a post published on his Twitter page, Press TV reported.

He was responding to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments on supporting what he described as a Yemen free from foreign influence.

Earlier on Monday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud presented a so-called peace initiative to end the conflict in Yemen, which would include reopening Sana’a airport, and allowing fuel and food imports through Hudaydah port — both of which are under the control of the Ansarullah movement.

A prominent member of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council has dismissed Saudi Arabia’s so-called peace initiative, saying that Yemenis are awaiting a meaningful end to the Saudi-led aggression and blockade instead of a mere “ceasefire” plan.

“We were expecting that America and Saudi Arabia would announce a ceasefire and remove the [ongoing] siege, instead of introducing an initiative. They should have demonstrated their seriousness for the establishment of peace by allowing licensed ships to dock at the port of Hudaydah rather than put forth a proposal,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Monday evening.

Source: Iran Daily