“Iran backs the [retaliatory measures of] the legal government of Yemen against the aggressors. Iran has always lend its spiritual and political support to Yemenis,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said at his weekly presser on Monday.
“We consider Yemenis’ measures as defensive moves [against aggressors,],” he added.
Referring to the latest proposal by the Ansarullah-led National Salvation Government, Mousavi said if Riyadh stops its bombardment, Yemeni forces will end drone and missile attacks on the Saudi soil in return.
He said the Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the offer by Yemen's National Salvation Government and regards it in line with the establishment of stability and security in the region.
The spokesman stressed that ending the standoff between the two Arab countries would be possible only if the Saudi government accepts this proposal to establish a ceasefire and end the cruel war on the Yemeni people.
In an interview with the Arabic-language al-Masirah television network earlier this month, the head of the Houthi Ansarullah movement's Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat, called for a halt to strikes on both sides and for serious talks among all players involved.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the former Riyadh-friendly government back to power and crushing Ansarullah.
The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 91,000 lives over the past four and a half years.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.
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