Only Political Solution Can End Yemeni Crisis: Iran’s Zarif

Speaking to reporters upon his arrival in Bulgaria on Tuesday, Zarif said since the very beginning of the Yemeni crisis, the Islamic Republic of Iran has emphasized that the only solution to the crisis is a political one.

After the start of Saudi bombings of the Yemeni people, Iran proposed a four-point peace plan, which included an immediate ceasefire, the dispatch of humanitarian assistance, Yemeni-Yemeni negotiation and formation of an inclusive government, he stated.

The Iranian top diplomat further denounced a recent United Nations Security Council resolution against Yemen as “an ugly show” and said the UNSC, which is supposed to protect peace and security, has turned into an organization supporting “child killers”.

On Monday, Russia vetoed a UK-drafted resolution that would have pressured Iran over allegations of violating an arms embargo on Yemen.

The text, strongly supported by the United States, won 11 favorable votes at the 15-member Security Council but was blocked by Russia's veto.

China and Kazakhstan abstained, while Bolivia also voted against the measure.

Nine votes and no vetoes from the five permanent council members -- Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States -- are required to adopt resolutions at the Security Council.

After the veto, the council unanimously adopted a measure that extended for one year the sanctions regime against Yemen, but that text made no mention of Iran.

Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for almost three years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Over 14,000 Yemenis, including thousands of women and children, have lost their lives in the deadly military campaign.