Iran's Zarif urges immediate end to Saudi attacks on Yemen
PRESS TV (Iran) Thu Mar 26, 2015 7:54AM
http://presstv.com/Detail/2015/03/26/403426/Riyadh-must-end-Yemen-attack-Iran

The Iranian foreign minister has called on Saudi Arabia to immediately cease
its military aggression against Yemen.

“We demand an immediate stop to the Saudi military operations in Yemen,”
Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with Iran's Arabic-language
al-Alam news network on Thursday.

Zarif said the military operations constitute a violation of Yemen’s
sovereignty and will only lead to bloodshed.

“We will spare no effort to contain the crisis in Yemen,” Zarif said.

He pointed out that the act of aggression will benefit no country, adding
that the military campaign will further escalate the tensions in the region.

The Iranian foreign minister also urged the regional and western countries
to avoid playing into the hands of terrorists such as al-Qaeda and ISIL in
Yemen.

Strikes will fuel flames

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham
also strongly condemned the Saudi-led military campaign against members of
the Ansarullah movement in neighboring Yemen, stressing that the move will
create an insecure atmosphere in the Middle East.

“Resorting to military actions against Yemen, which is already engaged in
internal conflict and fighting terrorism, will further complicate the
situation, spread the extent of the crisis and squander opportunities to
peacefully resolve internal disputes in Yemen,” Afkham said.

She also called for the immediate implementation of agreements struck
between Yemeni factions, and a quick cessation of Saudi-led air strikes and
operations against Yemen and its nation.

Afkham further noted that the ongoing onslaught against Yemen will have no
outcome other than the spread of terrorism and extremism, and will undermine
security in the Middle East.

Saudi strikes to backfire

Chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's
Parliament Alaeddin Boroujerdi also denounced the Saudi-led attacks against
Yemen, stating that such an action would eventually backfire.

“The fact that Saudi Arabia has waged a new war in the region attests to its
disregard and irresponsibility towards issues in the Muslim world. The
outcomes of this crisis will boomerang on Saudi Arabia as war is not
confined to the borders of one particular region,” Boroujerdi pointed out.

He also criticized the United States for fomenting instability in the Middle
East, stating that Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies have had
Washington’s carte blanche in order to launch attacks against Yemen.

The ongoing Saudi air strikes on Yemen have so far claimed the lives of 13
civilians with more deaths feared, according to Yemeni sources.

"Thirteen civilians, including women and children, were killed in the Saudi
raids overnight," a civil defense source said on Thursday.

According to witnesses, residents are helping civil defense authorities in
the search for any more victims under the rubble of houses damaged in the
air raids.

Following the attacks, forces loyal to fugitive Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh
Mansur Hadi seized control of the international airport in the southern port
city of Aden.

Troops of the 39th Armored Brigade, who are allied to the Houthi Ansarullah
movement, had earlier seized the facility.

The Al Arabiya News Channel reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia has
deployed "100 fighter jets, 150,000 soldiers and other navy units" for the
military campaign in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Yemeni sources say parachutists of Saudi-led forces have already
landed in Aden, located approximately 420 kilometers (260 miles) south of
the capital, Sana’a.

MP/NN/HMV