Tehran, Oct 12: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Monday reiterated the country’s readiness to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen. At a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei expressed grave concern over what is taking place on the Arabian Peninsula, adding that Iran does not approve of the continuation of the conflict and war between two countries.
“We have repeatedly expressed readiness to use our good offices to facilitate dialogue between the (warring) parties,” Baghaei said, stressing that the situation should be resolved through dialogue and engagement. His remarks came a day after Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, in a phone conversation with his Saudi counterpart on Sunday, voiced his country’s readiness to provide any kind of assistance to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
Iran’s offer to facilitate dialogue came amid a sharp escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, with intensified Saudi air operations against Houthi-held areas accompanying repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia, including airports and energy facilities.
An attack targeting King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday afternoon has killed 12 people and injured 309 others, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said, as Yemen’s Houthi group and Saudi Arabia continued exchanging strikes on major airports.
The Saudi aviation authority said in a statement early Sunday that the fatalities included four Saudi citizens and eight foreign residents — two Bangladeshis and one each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan, Xinhua news agency reported.
The injured are receiving treatment at several hospitals, with some in serious condition, the authority said. The authority said in an earlier statement that operations at the airport had been temporarily suspended pending damage assessments and safety checks.
Following the Saturday attack, the Houthi group said in a statement that it was ready for reciprocal measures with Saudi Arabia to keep airports, seaports and other facilities with humanitarian functions outside the escalating military confrontation.
IANS