Obama calls on Iran to help resolve crisis in Yemen

"We've indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution,” US President Barack Obama said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday night.

US President Barack Obama has called on Iran to help find a political solution for the crisis in Yemen, amid ongoing Saudi aggression against the people of the Arab country despite an announcement by Riyadh that it is ending its air offensive. 

"We've indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem," Obama said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday night.

"What we need to do is bring all the parties together and find a political arrangement. It is not solved by having another proxy war in Yemen," he stated.

A picture, taken on April 8, 2015, shows a damaged building following a Saudi airstrike against Yemen. (AFP photo)

The US president added "that we can settle down the situation in Yemen."

Saudi Arabia launched its air campaign against the Ansarullah fighters of the Houthi movement on March 26, without a United Nations mandate, in a bid to restore power to the country’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.  

The Houthis say Hadi’s government could not properly run the affairs of the country and contain the growing wave of corruption and terror.

On Tuesday, Riyadh announced the end of the first phase of its unlawful military operation against Yemen and would back a political solution to the conflict, but it resumed the bombing on Wednesday.

The United States which formerly authorized the Pentagon to provide logistical and intelligence support to Saudi airstrikes in Yemen, has dispatched its warships near the war-torn country.

A US Navy photo, released April 21, 2015, shows the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Persian Gulf. (AFP photo)

The Pentagon confirmed that the carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the cruiser USS Normandy have been dispatched to the region.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has also been conducting patrols in Persian Gulf since November 2008 in order to safeguard merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.

While denying reports that the US move aimed at the interception of Iranian ships, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that the Central Command moved the ships due to the situation in Yemen.

"There's a reason why we keep some of our ships in the Persian Gulf region and that is to make sure we maintain freedom of navigation," Obama said on Tuesday.

SB/GJH


Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Press TV News Roku