Riyadh — Saudi Arabia on Sunday said Iran was blocking peace efforts in Yemen by supporting the Yemeni rebels.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said Tehran was smuggling arms to Yemen’s Houthi rebels and to the rebels’ ally ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
“Iran is destroying all attempts to find a solution in Yemen, which has led to the failure of all political negotiations between the government and these militias,” Jubeir told a gathering in the Saudi capital of foreign ministers and chiefs of staff of member states of the Arab Coalition forces in Yemen.
“These militias would not have continued operations without the support of the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world — the Iranian regime,” Jubeir said.
“We are supporting international efforts, led by the UN Secretary General’s envoy, to resolve the Yemen crisis in accordance with the Security Council Resolution 2216 and the Gulf Peace Initiative,” he said.
Jubeir explained the magnitude of suffering and ordeal of the people of Yemen due to the atrocities being perpetrated by the militias of Houthis and Saleh.
“These militias have deprived more than 4.5 million Yemeni children of education. They have recruited more than 1,000 children, targeted cities and civilians, destroyed homes, and planted landmines,” he said.
“These militias have prevented hospitals from treating the sick, and they also pollute the environment in residential areas and block international aid to beneficiaries,” Jubeir added.
Addressing the gathering, Saudi Chief of Staff Gen. Abdul Rahman Bin Saleh Al-Bunyan said Yemeni forces had regained control of “85 percent of the country” and had “spared civilians in conformity with international humanitarian law”.
The meeting was also attended by heads of international and humanitarian organizations and ambassadors of a number of friendly countries.
Member states of the Coalition for Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen include United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Pakistan, Djibouti, Sudan, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Malaysia and Yemen. — SG
