DUBAI 17 Mar (Online): Iran has agreed to stop sending weapons to its Houthi allies in Yemen as part of a deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia that was brokered by China, quoting US and Saudi officials the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.<\/p>\n
Tehran\u2019s move would hasten new efforts to achieve peace in Yemen, as it could put pressure on the militant group to reach a deal to end the conflict. A UN-sponsored truce in the country last year lasted only six months after the Houthis rejected calls for de-escalation and an extension to the ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Tehran publicly denies that it supplies the Houthis with weapons, but UN inspectors have repeatedly traced seized weapons shipments back to Iran.<\/p>\n
After last week\u2019s rapprochement gestures by Saudi Arabia and Iran, officials from both countries said Iran would press the Houthis to end attacks on Saudi Arabia, the WSJ report noted. <\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia expects Iran to respect a UN arms embargo meant to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis, the report quoted a Saudi official as saying, and diminishes the group\u2019s ability to launch against the Kingdom and gain more ground in Yemen.<\/p>\n
The agreement to resume Saudi-Iran relations \u201cgives a boost to the prospect of a (Yemen) deal in the near future,\u201d while Iran\u2019s approach to the conflict will be \u201ckind of a litmus test\u201d for the success of last week\u2019s diplomatic deal, according to a US official quoted by WSJ.<\/p>\n
Hans Grundberg, the special UN envoy for Yemen, flew to Tehran this week to discuss with officials on how end the Yemen war and then on to Riyadh. <\/p>\n
Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian assured the UN diplomat that Tehran was ready to do more to help end the conflict in Yemen.<\/p>\n
Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy to Yemen, also met with Saudi officials in an attempt to jumpstart peace talks.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia and Iran also agreed to re-open their embassies and missions within two months, and affirmed \u2018the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs of states.\u2019<\/p>\n
The warming up of Saudi-Iran relations was widely welcomed by the global community, with the European Union, in a statement, noting: \u201cAs both Saudi Arabia and Iran are central for the security of the region, the resumption of their bilateral relations can contribute to the stabilization of the region as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DUBAI 17 Mar (Online): Iran has agreed to stop sending weapons to its Houthi allies in Yemen as part of a deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia that was brokered by China, quoting US and Saudi officials the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. […]<\/p>\n
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