Iran Rejects Allegations of Interference in Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Embassy in Sana’a dismissed as “unacceptable” the remarks attributed to Yemeni President Abd Rabuh Mansur Hadi, who has reportedly accused Iran of interfering in the Arab country’s internal affairs.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Iranian Embassy said it was pursuing efforts to validate the authenticity of those remarks through the Yemeni government’s authorities.
The diplomatic mission also condemned what it called “media propaganda in line with the attitude of projection adopted by certain regional parties.”
The statement came after some Arab media outlets quoted the Yemeni president as saying that Tehran was trying to “trade Sana’a for the Syrian capital, Damascus.”
“Iran heavily interferes in Yemen’s affairs and there are four groups affiliated to it that are working against Yemen, and there are Iranian advisers (working with Houthi leader) Abdelmalek al-Houthi,” Hadi was quoted as saying in a statement.
In recent days, growing numbers of Houthi supporters have been arriving at encampments on Sanaa's outskirts, marching through the city daily while the movement's leader al-Houthi has made repeated demands that a recent fuel price hike be reversed and the government be dissolved, threatening an expanding campaign of civil dissent.
