Iran Calls Yemen Siege 'Brutal', Urges Talks After Houthi Capture of Mokha

Iran's foreign ministry has described the situation in Yemen as a "brutal siege" and urged a return to negotiations, in its first public response since Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured the port city of Mokha.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state television late Friday that Yemenis had been deprived of the benefits available to any normal country and had concluded that the United Nations and regional systems would not improve their situation. He said the Houthis had therefore decided to break the siege.

Baghaei rejected any suggestion that Tehran was behind the Houthi advance, saying the developments in Yemen had nothing to do with Iran and that Yemenis had decided for themselves to rise up for their rights. He added that Iran has always tried to help because it believes any fighting between Islamic countries has only one winner — the Zionist regime.

Earlier, the foreign ministry called for a return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Riyadh, which said it had always offered opportunities for negotiation, also said it has the right to defend itself. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on social media that he and his Saudi counterpart spoke on Thursday about diplomatic efforts to restore stability.

Baghaei also said a regional meeting is planned between Iran and other Persian Gulf countries, including Oman and Iraq. He told reporters the meeting will take place on Monday in Oman and will include discussion of prior Iran-Oman talks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The two countries, which sit on either side of the strait, have held talks on managing ship traffic through the waterway, which has been heavily disrupted by the Iran war.

Separately, in a sign of the Houthis' importance to Tehran, the spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guard this week called for any negotiated settlement with the United States to include Yemen — the first explicit reference to that front.