The deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs reiterated the call for efforts to defuse the Yemeni crisis by establishing a ceasefire and holding national dialogue.
Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the plea in a telephone conversation with United Nation’s special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Sunday, IRNA reported.
He voiced Iran’s support for efforts by the UN envoy in Yemen with a view to securing a ceasefire, breaking the blockade on the Yemeni people, establishing effective intra-Yemeni dialogue and concluding the political process in the Arab country.
“Since the start of the military assault against Yemen, Iran explicitly described the Saudi measure as a strategic mistake which would result is nothing but the massacre of the Yemeni people and spread of terrorism and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region,” he noted.
The Islamic Republic believes Yemeni groups and parties are able to work out a sustainable agreement under the UN supervision, he added.
The UN official outlined his efforts to secure a humanitarian truce in Yemen in the shortest possible time, referring to his consultations with regional authorities and Yemeni groups in this regard.
Cheikh Ahmed said the support by Iran and regional countries has bolstered UN efforts to end the Yemeni conflict and alleviate the crisis-hit nation’s pain and suffering.
Describing the humanitarian conditions in Yemen as critical, he said there is no other way out of the crisis but to put an end to Saudi-led attacks. The envoy called for cooperation among all parties to help find a way out of the ongoing crisis in Yemen.
A Saudi-led coalition started military airstrikes against Yemen on March 26, without a UN mandate. According to local Yemeni sources, more than 4,500 people have been killed since Riyadh launched its military campaign. The UN puts the number at more than 2,600.
Last week, the UN designated the war in Yemen as a Level 3 humanitarian crisis, its most severe category.
