Iranian FM calls for lifting of Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of Yemen

Iran’s foreign minister, during his meeting with the chief negotiator of Yemen’s National Salvation Government in the Omani capital on Wednesday, called for the lifting of the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of the country.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who is currently visiting Oman, held the meeting with Mohammed Abdul-Salam, who is also the spokesperson of the Ansarullah resistance movement, at the Iranian embassy in Muscat, according to a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

During the meeting, Iran’s top diplomat “appreciated the steadfastness of the Yemeni people in asserting their rights” and reaffirmed the Islamic Republic of Iran’s support to them.

Referring to it as a “humanitarian matter”, Amir-Abdollahian said the blockade of Yemen should be lifted and the people of the country should be able to lead normal lives.

Iran’s foreign minister further emphasized the need for a peaceful solution to the crisis engulfing Yemen and described the political dialogue between Yemeni groups as an “internal matter” of the country.

He also paid tribute to Hassan Irloo, the former ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Yemen. His first death anniversary was observed last week.

Amir-Abdollahian hailed him as “a martyr of Yemen” and reaffirmed the determination of the Islamic Republic of Iran in supporting the people of Yemen.

Yemen has been reeling under the Saudi-led coalition’s devastating war since March 2015, which has spawned the world’s worst humanitarian disaster in the Persian Gulf country.

New phase of military confrontation with Riyadh will be totally different: Ansarullah

Yemeni armed forces are able to strike deep inside Saudi-led coalition countries in any new confrontation, says Ansarullah.

In October, the United Nations announced the end of a truce in the country between the Ansarullah resistance movement and the Saudi-led coalition, paving way for no-holds-barred aggression from the occupying coalition supported by the Western powers.

The Yemeni Army blames Riyadh and its Arab and Western allies for breaching the terms of the UN-brokered ceasefire.

Yemeni government officials insist that the Saudi coalition must end its blockade and allow the resumption of salary payments to all civil servants in order to commence political negotiations.

Abdul-Salam told Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah television network on Monday that the ceasefire will be restored once the brutal siege on the country is lifted and the occupying forces are expelled.

He also informed that an Omani delegation held constructive negotiations with Ansarullah chief Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, head of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mohammad Abdulkarim al-Ghamari.

The delegation visited Yemen to hold talks with high-ranking members of the Ansarullah resistance movement on extending the UN-brokered nationwide ceasefire and halting the Saudi aggression.

Abdul-Salam hailed Oman's efforts in helping bring peace and stability back to Yemen and providing humanitarian assistance to Yemenis to alleviate their suffering.

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