Yemen Rejects Iranian Plan

A spokesman for the internationally recognized government of Yemen issued a statement Saturday rejecting an Iranian plan for ending the conflict in that country. “The goal of the initiative is only a political maneuver,” the spokesman told Reuters by telephone from Qatar’s capital, Doha. Western and Arab diplomats have also largely ignored the plan submitted to the UN by Iran, which is accused of directly supporting the Houthi rebel factions battling the government. Meanwhile, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said on Sunday that Israel was among the parties benefitting from what he described as Saudi Arabia’s “dirty” war on Yemen. He added that the Saudi-led campaign of air strikes against the Houthis in Yemen would not achieve its objective of forcing them to negotiate with the government but would only stir up hatred among “the Moslems” for Saudi Arabia.