On Thursday, the launching of an intra-Yemeni dialogue “away from foreign interference” to settle the crisis in the country was called for by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
A ministry statement on the seventh anniversary of the Saudi-led coalition said, “The destructive war and the cruel blockade of the (Saudi-led Arab) coalition against the people of Yemen is entering its eighth year as it has led to this resilient country facing the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the century.”
Iran “supports any sort of fair and practical effort and initiative for the removal of the blockade, establishment of truce and beginning of Yemeni-Yemeni negotiations,” the statement added.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) invited Yemeni parties for talks in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on March 29 to discuss comprehensive peace in war-torn Yemen, on March 17.
The Houthi group conditioned any dialogue to be in a neutral country, while the Yemeni government welcomed the invitation.
Since 2015, the Saudi-led Arab coalition has been fighting the Houthis, one year after rebels overran much of Yemen, including the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
With nearly 80 percent of the country, or about 30 million people, in need of humanitarian assistance and protection and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates, the conflict has created one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises.
