Iranian Official Welcomes Saudi Bid to End Yemen War
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi said Tehran would welcome Saudi Arabia’s “positive step” in pursuing a way to end the war on Yemen.
Asked about the Saudi offer for the normalization of ties with Iran, Vaezi told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session on Wednesday, “We believe that our region needs calm. In the past, Saudi Arabia thought it could swallow Yemen in a short time with a coalition it has formed and achieve its purpose.”
He said the Riyadh regime has failed to reach its objectives five years after launching the war on Yemen.
“We believe that considering the current conditions in the region, the Saudis have come to the conclusion that the war cannot decide the fate. We welcome such a stance,” Vaezi added.
Iran also welcomes the offer from Yemen’s Houthi movement for a truce, the president’s chief of staff underlined, saying it would be a “positive stop” for Saudi Arabia to be looking to mend ties with Iran and settle the crisis in Yemen.
In an interview with CBS on September 29, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said he preferred a political resolution rather than a military one to the issues with Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry has urged Riyadh to accept a proposal from Yemen’s National Salvation Government for a ceasefire and stop the military aggression against the Yemeni nation.
It came after President of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat said the Houthi forces would end all attacks on Saudi Arabia provided that the kingdom and its allies ended their attacks on Yemen.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.