Iranian Diplomat Calls for Prompt UN Action to End Yemeni Crisis

"Saudi Arabia's aggression on Yemen and its oppressed and defenseless people is unacceptable," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a telephone conversation with UN secretary-general's new special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Monday.

"It is necessary that the UN and international relief organizations immediately begin their efforts to end the current crisis (in Yemen)," he stressed.

"The UN is expected to take an effective, direct and preventive measure against the blatant aggression and massacre of the defenseless people of Yemen by Saudi Arabia, which has violated international laws," Amir Abdollahian went on to say.

Cheikh Ahmed, for his part, hailed Iran's constructive cooperation with the UN and said the international body attaches great importance to consultations with the Islamic Republic to resolve regional problems.

The phone call came after Saudi-led fighter jets heavily bombed targets in Yemen's northern provinces of Sa'dah and al-Jawf, killing or injuring dozens.

According to the latest report by the Freedom House Institution in Yemen, the death toll from the Saud-led war on the Arab country has reached 3,553 people.

The report said 6,271 people have also been injured since the beginning of the Saudi regime’s attacks on the country.

On March 26, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies began to launch deadly air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

The Saudi-led coalition announced on April 21 that its military operation "Decisive Storm" has ended, but hours later, air strikes and ground fighting resumed.