Saudi Spurns Call by Iran to Draw Back From Yemen

CAIRO — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister accused Iran on Sunday of meddling in Yemen and pointedly dismissed Iranian appeals for the Saudis to end their bombing campaign, in the latest sign of deepening tensions between the regional heavyweights.

“How could Iran call on us to stop the fighting?” the foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said, adding that Tehran had played no constructive role in Yemen’s development process.

“On the contrary, it intervened in decision-making in Yemen,” he told reporters in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, according to a transcript by the Al-Arabiya news channel. 

The escalating feud between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which has inflamed conflicts and sectarian rhetoric around the region, has dampened hopes that there will be a swift end to the fighting in Yemen.

Analysts say the Saudi military intervention, which began last month and was driven at least partly by fears of Iranian intervention, has hardened political divides in Yemen while exacerbating an armed conflict that has killed hundreds of people and led to an intensifying humanitarian crisis.   Read More at NYT

Saudi Spurns Call by Iran to Draw Back From Yemen