Iran Demands UN Action to End War on Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An adviser to the Iranian foreign minister called on the United Nations to take serious measures to stop the Saudi-led military attacks on Yemen and lift the blockade on that country.
In a videoconference on Sunday, senior advisor to the Iranian foreign minister, Ali Asghar Khaji, held talks with Hans Grundberg, the UN secretary general’s special envoy for Yemen, as Tehran has stepped up efforts to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Arab country.
In the online meeting, Khaji expressed extreme concern over an escalation of tensions and a surge in recent airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition against residential and civilian areas in Yemen.
He demanded that the UN and the international community intervene in Yemen and end the Saudi-led war on the country and also the inhumane siege of the Yemeni people.
The Iranian advisor also underlined that the Islamic Republic will continue efforts to help establish fair peace in Yemen, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.
For his part, the UN secretary general’s special envoy highlighted Iran’s role in helping establish peace in Yemen.
Grundberg also outlined the UN’s efforts to lift the Saudi-led blockade, establish a ceasefire and resume political talks in 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.
The war has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, and resulted in what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Some 3.3 million people have been displaced from their homes and 24 million, or more than 80 percent of the population, are in need of aid, according to the UN.
