Yemen
A man is pictured through the window grills of a house that was damaged by a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa August 26, 2015. Yemeni army units allied to the Houthi militia fired a ballistic missile toward southern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the group's TV channel said, as combat between the kingdom and the Iran-allied group has intensified. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah

The Saudi-led airstrike on Yemen should stop, an Iranian diplomat said. He said Saudi Arabia’s activities in the Arab country were against Iran’s fundamental approach toward the Yemeni crisis.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian had a telephonic conversation with U.N. special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on Thursday. He urged Ahmed to put an immediate end to the Saudi aggression. Abdollahian said political dialogue was the only possible way to solve the crisis.

According to the World Health Organization estimate on Aug. 11, more than 4,300 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict. Iranian news agency Press TV reported local Yemeni sources claimed a much higher fatality figure.

Abdollahian said an intra-Yemeni dialogue was the only possible solution to the ongoing political crisis in Yemen. All regional sides should agree to hold talks with one another and settle disagreements. The Iranian diplomat appreciated Ahmed’s efforts to find a political solution to the ongoing crisis. Abdollahian also appreciated that the UN envoy had urged to have the siege against the people of the country removed.

Ahmed said ceasefire must be established across Yemen. He agreed with the Iranian diplomat that all Yemeni groups should hold talks to solve the crisis. He added “adopting a political solution and avoiding war” would be beneficial not only for Yemen but for the entire region as well.

Abdollahian invited the UN envoy to Iran to talk more about the crisis. He said the political unrest in Yemen was a reason behind the rising threat of terrorism in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the military conflict between the Yemeni army and its Saudi counterpart continues. Yemeni army units backed by the Houthi militia fired a ballistic missile toward southern Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. However, the Saudi military said it had managed to intercept it and retaliated with air strikes on Yemeni territory, Reuters reported.

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