Tehran, Iran, May 19
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Saudi Arabia must quit Yemen and leave the people of that country to decide for their future, Iranian MP and Second Deputy Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Mansour Haqiqatpour told Trend May 19.
He said that Riyadh must respect the people of Yemen and their choice and try not to impose itself on the war-torn country.
The Riyadh meeting will fail as did Geneva I and II on Syria, the MP asserted.
"They must accept what is happening on the scene, respect people's choice and the right to choosing their future, and let nations decide freely," Haqiqatpour said.
The Hejaz ruling regime is unable to understand the facts; like it failed to do so in Syria, Iraq, and Bahrain, it has failed to understand Yemen much worse, he asserted.
The MP went on to say that regional pressure, power struggle within the House of Saud, and social tensions in Saudi Arabia are destructive waves that have deprived the regime of the ability to make right decisions.
He said Riyadh doesn't have the right to hold such meetings as the recent one on Yemen. "The nation has withstood, you cannot do anything about it," he said, adding that Saudi Arabia will not be able to achieve anything by such meetings.
Turmoil has mounted in Yemen since last September, when the Houthis seized capital Sanaa before extending its influence to other parts of the country.
Since late March, Saudi Arabia and several of its Arab allies have been pounding Yemen.
Riyadh says its campaign is in response to appeals by Yemen's embattled president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, for military intervention against the Houthis.
The Houthis, for their part, have denounced the air offensive as unwarranted "Saudi-American aggression" against Yemen.
Also in response to the Riyadh meeting, Iran's Supreme Leader advisor for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati stated May 18 that any meeting on Yemen crisis should be held in a neutral country.
Edited by CN
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