CAIRO (AP) — Iran’s mission to the United Nations has said a novel deal with Saudi Arabia to restore bilateral ties will help reach a political settlement in the protracted war in Yemen, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.
Iran and Saudi Arabia on Friday agreed to restore diplomatic ties and reopen their embassies after seven years of tensions that brought the two regional powers to the brink of conflict and stoked tensions across the region.
Shortly after it erupted in 2014, the conflict in Yemen escalated into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia, which led a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and Iran, which backed the country’s Houthi rebels.
Western governments and United Nations experts have long accused Iran of supplying arms to the Houthis. Western armies have repeatedly intercepted Iranian arms shipments en route to Yemen via the Red Sea. Tehran has denied allegations that it armed the Houthis.
China brokered the important diplomatic deal between Tehran and Riyadh, which is believed to greatly reduce the possibility of armed conflict, whether direct or indirect, between the regional rivals.
The IRNA news agency quoted a statement by the Iranian mission to the United Nations as saying that the deal with Saudi Arabia would speed up attempts to renew a ceasefire, “would help launch a national dialogue and establish an inclusive national government in Yemen.” form”.
The month-long ceasefire, the longest in the Yemen conflict, expired in October. However, both sides refrained from taking any significant escalating action that could lead to renewed fighting amid negotiations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia to renew the pact.