The chairman of the Expediency Council warned of the serious consequences of the sectarian strife raging in Yemen, likening the situation in the war-hit country to a "mire" in which "the aggressors" will finally find themselves bogged down.
"Yemen will turn into a mire dragging in the aggressors," Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Saturday addressing the first meeting of the Expediency Council in the current Iranian year starting March 21.
He denounced the Saudi assault on Yemen as "dangerous" since it will heighten sectarian conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis and lead to further bloodshed in the region. "The war and its unfortunate consequences across the Muslim world will be very dangerous," IRNA quoted him as saying.
Voicing grave concern over the plots to promote Shiite-phobia in regional countries, particularly Yemen, the cleric said, "This is a wrong attempt resulting from an absolutely wrong analysis (of the situation in Yemen) and is in line with the objectives of enemies of Islam because (the plotters have failed to realize that) the Yemeni issue is of deep roots and a long history."
Obvious Miscalculation
Rafsanjani criticized Saudi officials for having committed such an "obvious" mistake, calling on them to take quick measures to correct their error.
"Unfortunately, the rookie Saudi officials have made an obvious miscalculation in their political and military analyses of the situation in Yemen and have launched a war in the region through the formation of a fragile, defective coalition without first studying and considering its serious repercussions carefully."
"So the wise officials among Saudi decision-makers are expected to take prompt action to prevent further spread of war and bring an end to the aggression against Yemen."
Pointing to the strategic importance of the Gulf of Aden for the establishment of peace and stability in the region, he urged international organizations and the regional countries that have adopted an impartial stance to help stop the war through negotiation and political solutions. Rafsanjani expressed Iran's readiness to contribute its share to cooperate with the international community and regional players in this relation.
Referring to nuclear negotiations with the major powers on Tehran's nuclear program, which led to a joint statement on April 2 in the Swiss city of Lausanne, the senior official said, "The negotiating team and other diplomats should seek to reach a fair agreement which safeguards and promotes the country's interests."
The details of the final deal have remained to be worked out by June 30. He underlined the recent remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who set out the key parameters of the final pact, saying, "We hope that the negotiating team will apply the same level of vigilance and prudence in the process of finalizing the details that they have already shown in securing the agreement on generalities."
