An Iranian news website has quoted an "informed source" as saying that former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has written to Saudi and Houthi leaders as well as the U.N. Secretary-General in an attempt to mediate an end to Yemen's conflict.
According to a report by Rouydad 24 news website on Tuesday which has been widely quoted by other news websites, an informed source has said that Ahmadinejad wants to play the role of a mediator to end the conflict in Yemen.
The source has said that Ahmadinejad has written letters to Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as well as tothe UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Houthi leaders. The letters will be followed by technical discussions to form a mediation mission to lead the peace talks, according to the report.
The source, however, has not revealed when the letters were sent or or if there were any possible responses to Ahmadinejad's letters.
President Ahmadinejad wrote letters to world leaders including U.S. Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and Pope Benedict during his presidency in an endeavor to open a line of communication and dialogue but his letters were mostly left unanswered.
Ahmadinejad himself has not confirmed or denied the report. He has recently been making more public appearances and has criticized a proposed long-term pact between Iran and China that has been leaked to the public as Iran's capitulation and a sell-out of national resources.
There are some indications that Ahmadinejad may be thinking of running in 2021 presidential election and might have already begun his publicity campaign. A number of his supporters and associates were elected to the Parliament in February but there is very little chance Iran's election watchdog, the Guardian Council, will approve his candidacy due to the fall-out between the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and him during his presidency.
When he was asked recently if he intended to run again he said: "I'm ready to make sacrifices for Iran " and added that one must think of "reforming the world". "Any reform has to be at a global level," he said.
