The Iranian regime is known for its meddling in various countries in the Middle East and many leaders have spoken out about Iran’s spread of terrorism and its policy of igniting conflicts in its quest for regional hegemony.
Saudi Arabia has been particularly outspoken about Iran’s belligerence and on Sunday it blamed Iran for hindering peace efforts in Yemen. It pointed out that by supporting the rebels that have coalition forces fighting, no political resolution can be reached, Iran News Update reports.
The comments came from the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeir, and he said that Iran’s support of rebels includes the smuggling of arms. Northern Yemen and the country’s capital Sanaa is controlled by rebels and the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh who has allied with the rebels.
At a meeting of military officials and foreign ministers from several different countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt – countries involved in the Saudi-led coalition to help Yemen – the Saudi Foreign Minister said that Iran’s meddling is making it impossible for a peaceful solution to be found in the country. He said that Iran has caused the failure of all political negotiations that are happening between the militias and the government.
Foreign Ministers and Chiefs of Staff of States from the Coalition Supporting the Legitimacy in Yemen denounced on Sunday the negative role played by Tehran in supporting coup militias with weapons, ammunition, ballistic missiles and mines in a flagrant violation of Security Council Resolution 2216, stressing the Iranian regime and its proxies are responsible for destabilizing regional security.
Just like Iran’s nefarious interference in the Syrian civil war, Iran is ensuring that militias are able to continue battling.
“These militias would not have continued operations without the support of the greatest sponsor of terrorism in the world – the Iranian regime,” the Saudi Foreign Minister said.
At the same meeting, the Foreign Minister of Yemen told the attendees that the Houthi rebels were playing out a “sectarian project” that was led by Iran. He said that the rebels are trying to ensure that the legitimate government of Yemen is toppled. Since the regional military coalition that is led by Saudi Arabia joined with the government of Yemen in the fight against rebels in 2015, there have been more than 8,600 deaths.
Iran has said that it has never smuggled arms to the Houthis rebels, but it has not denied that it is supporting the cause of the rebels.
The country was devastated by a cholera outbreak that started in April. Hospitals were unable to get essential supplies needed for the outbreak because of blockades that were put on the main airport in the country as well as on a number of its ports. As a result, there have been over two thousand deaths.
To make matters even worse for the poor people of the country who have been surrounded by suffering for years, a famine is now a very real threat.
The United Nations has been sponsoring talks regarding the war in Yemen, but so far there has been no political resolution between the rebels and their allies and the government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi which is backed by the government of Saudi Arabia.
In Syria, the situation is similar. Iran has been supporting President Bashar al-Assad and rebel forces. If Iran had not intervened in the Syrian civil war it would have ended long ago.