Iran Hails Extension of UN-Brokered Truce in Yemen, Urges Political Solution
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry welcomed a two-month extension of the truce brokered by the UN between the Saudi-led invading coalition and Yemeni forces, once again hoping for a permanent ceasefire and finding a political solution to the crisis.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh expressed hope that the truce will be the prelude to the full lifting of the blockade on Yemen and a permanent ceasefire in order to find a political solution to the country’s crisis.
He reaffirmed Iran’s policy to support a political and humanitarian solution in Yemen, saying, “Based on its strategic vision and principled policies, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always viewed the solution to the Yemeni problem to be political and has used all of its resources to achieve a just settlement based on Yemen's reality".
The ceasefire involves a halt to military operations and ships will be allowed to carry food and fuel and the Sana’a airport will partially reopen.
In early April, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced the nationwide ceasefire, for the first time since 2016, saying the two-month truce would be eligible for renewal with the consent of parties. The truce has been meant to halt all military operations in the country and to bring the foreign military invasion to an end.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the truce "must be a first step to ending Yemen’s devastating war," urging the warring parties to build on the opportunity to "resume an inclusive and comprehensive Yemeni political process."
The deal stipulates halting offensive military operations, including cross-border attacks, and allowing fuel-laden ships to enter Yemen’s lifeline al-Hudaydah port and commercial flights in and out of the airport in the capital Sana’a "to predetermined destinations in the region."
The two-month humanitarian and military truce under the auspices of the United Nations entered into effect on the second of last April and was slated to end on the second of June 2022.
