A letter by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif outlining a four-point plan to address the situation in Yemen was submitted to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday by Gholamali Khoshroo, the ambassador to the world body.
The plan calls for an immediate ceasefire and end of all foreign military attacks, humanitarian assistance, a resumption of broad national dialogue, and “establishment of an inclusive national unity government.”
“It is imperative for the international community to get more effectively involved in ending the senseless aerial attacks and establishing a ceasefire, ensuring delivery of humanitarian and medical assistance to the people of Yemen and restoring peace and stability to this country through dialogue and national reconciliation without pre-conditions,” Zarif said in the letter.
He denounced the Saudi air raids targeting Yemen’s infrastructures, hospitals, schools, and roads to deprive the Yemeni people of their basic needs, IRNA reported.
The attacks are destroying residential areas, including refugee camps, and have led to the killing and injuring of many civilians, especially women and children, the letter said.
The aggression is in blatant violation of the most basic principles of international law and the UN charter, Zarif said, warning that the instability was allowing terrorist groups to gain a foothold in Yemen.
“This critical situation is escalating and the humanitarian crisis in Yemen is approaching catastrophic dimensions,” Zarif’s letter said. “It may result in further exacerbation of the already tense circumstances in a region that has been plagued by one of the most barbaric types of extremism and (a) multi-pronged vicious campaign of foreign-backed terrorists,” it added.
Iran requested the letter be shared with the 15-nation Security Council.
