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Iran condemns Arab states’ Yemen strikes as coalition prepares for ground invasion
Iran leaders have condemned the Saudi-led Arab offensive against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that, “Military action from outside of Yemen against its territorial integrity and its people will have no other result than more bloodshed and more deaths”, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed that “interference by foreign militaries is very dangerous and deepens the crisis” in a call with French President Francois Hollande.
The Houthi rebels are Shi’ite Muslims and are widely believed to be backed by Iran. The Houthi broke the deadlock in the long-running civil war in Yemen to take the capital city, Saana, and drive out Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. Hadi has fled to Saudi Arabia and will reportedly attend the Arab League summit in Egypt tomorrow.
The offensive continued yesterday and overnight, with reports of civilian casualties overnight.
Egypt has sent four warships to the Gulf of Aden and has promised ground troops if they are needed. 170 warplanes have been committed by Arab states to the aerial offensive, while a large ground invasion is being prepared. There are some unconfirmed reports of Arab troops landing to secure the port of Aden already.
The situation in Yemen was also raised in the call between President Rouhani and UK Prime Minister Cameron. Reuters notes that Mr Cameron warned President Rouhani that Iran should not back the Houthi rebels in Yemen. According to a Downing Street spokesperson, Mr Cameron told Mr Rouhani that, “In order to restore stability what we need is a political process and … as part of that other countries should not be supporting the Houthi rebels and instead be encouraging all the different parties in Yemen with different interests to come together in a political process”.
Yemen is the latest flashpoint in the confrontation between Iran and the Sunni Arab states. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf states are concerned by Iran’s growing regional influence and its backing of armed Shiite groups. They are also concerned that US action in Iraq and Syria to combat ISIL is also allowing Iranian-backed groups to fill the vacuum.
Some commentators fear that a conflict in Yemen could spill into a wider regional war if Iran decides to militarily back the Houthi rebels against the Arab coalition.