In this Dec 9, 2020 photo, security forces loyal to the Houthi group walk while on duty during a mass wedding for thousands of couples including the poor, handicapped, and wounded, in Yemen's capital Sanaa. (MOHAMMED HUWAIS / AFP)
TEHRAN – Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday called for the cessation of war and siege on Yemen led by Saudi Arabia.
Saudi-led coalition should end the war and end the siege on Yemen "soon," Saeed Khatibzadeh, the spokesman of Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said during his weekly press conference.
Iran has offered a political plan to settle the disputes of Yemen from the beginning, and it announced its readiness to help end the war, said Khatibzadeh.
Iran has offered a political plan to settle the disputes of Yemen from the beginning, and it announced its readiness to help end the war, said a spoeksperson for the Iranian foreign ministry
Asked about recent attacks of the Houthi fighters on Saudi Arabian facilities, Khatibzadeh said that "the root of what is happening in Yemen today is the 6-year-old aggression and the obvious oppression that millions of Yemenis suffer from."
ALSO READ: Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi oil heartland with drones, missiles
"The sooner Saudi Arabia ends the war and the siege, the more it will help the UN initiatives and other countries to resolve the issue," he stressed.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen for almost six years in support of the exiled government of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
Also on Monday, the United States said it is committed to defending Saudi Arabia following the Houthi fighters’ drone and missile strikes on a Saudi facility vital to oil exports.
Saudi authorities said there were no casualties or property losses from Sunday’s attacks targeting an oil storage yard at Ras Tanura, site of a refinery and the world’s biggest offshore oil loading facility, and a residential compound in Dhahran used by state-controlled oil giant Saudi Aramco.
READ MORE: Saudi TV: Saudi-led coalition destroys 10 Houthi drones
“The heinous Houthi assaults on civilians and vital infrastructure demonstrate lack of respect for human life and disregard for peace efforts,” the US embassy in the kingdom said in an Arabic-language Twitter post. “The United States stands by Saudi Arabia and its people. Our commitment to defend the Kingdom and its security is firm.”
With Reuters inputs