World

Saudi 'attack' on Yemen endangers region: Iran

AFP

Iran warned on Tuesday that the Saudi “attack” on Yemen endangered the whole region, calling for an immediate halt to the military operation against Shiite rebels. “The fire of war in the region from any side... Will drag the whole region to play with fire. This is not in the interest of the nations in the region,” Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said. “We strongly object to the military solution in Yemen. We believe that the Saudi military attack against Yemen is a strategic mistake,” Abdollahian told reporters on the sidelines of a Syria donors conference in Kuwait. “Military operations must stop immediately” to open the way to a “political solution,” he said. A Saudi-led Arab coalition has been pounding rebel positions in Yemen since Thursday. Riyadh accuses Tehran of backing the Huthi Shiite rebels. Abdollahian said Iran sees the intervention in Yemen as “external aggression” that will foment extremism in the region.