TEHRAN – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday demanded that SaudiArabia end its offensive in Yemen after an attack in the oil-rich kingdomwhich Washington blamed on Tehran.
“The security of Saudi Arabia will be guaranteed with the termination ofaggression in Yemen, rather than by inviting foreigners,” he told the UNGeneral Assembly.
Saudi Arabia is leading an air campaign aimed at defeating Iranian-backedHouthi rebels who control much of Yemen, contributing to a humanitariancrisis in which thousands of civilians have died and millions are on thebrink of starvation.
The Houthis claimed responsibility for air attacks this month on SaudiArabia’s oil infrastructure, but US officials blamed Iran and said therebels did not have the range of sophistication to target the facilities.
Rouhani, mirroring US efforts to rally its Arab allies, invited regionalcountries to join a “Coalition for Hope” in which he said they would pledgenon-aggression and non-interference in one another’s affairs.
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“The security of the region shall be provided when American troops pullout,” Rouhani said.
“In the event of an incident, you and we shall not remain alone. We areneighbours with each other and not with the United States,” he said.-APP/AFP
