Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riad Yassin rejected Monday an offer from Iran to mediate a solution to the conflict in his country, citing Iran's role in supporting rebel militants, reported AFP. Yassin instead insisted that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels must surrender.
“Iran has become a major part of the Yemeni crisis and those who are a party to the crisis…cannot become mediators,” Yassin told AFP while at a meeting in Kuwait City. He also demanded that rebel forces lay down arms as a condition for any potential negotiations.
The Shiite Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have taken control of swathes of Yemeni territory, prompting heavy airstrikes from a Saudi-led coalition in support of Yemen’s exiled government. Recent reports say that over 400 people have died so far in the airstrikes.
