Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promised to continue supporting Yemen’s Houthis against a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting to restore Yemen’s overthrown government in a four-year war.
Speaking on state TV, Khamenei also urged for dialogue among Yemenis to quell the fighting that has killed tens of thousands, and which has brought the country to the brink of famine.
Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia of plotting to “divide Yemen,” while saying a “unified and coherent Yemen with sovereign integrity should be endorsed.”
The Iranian-aligned Houthis control Yemen’s capital of Sanaa and most of the impoverished country’s populous areas.
Arch foe Saudi Arabia and coalition partner United Arab Emirates (UAE) have battled the Houthis since 2015 on behalf of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government.
In June, UAE mostly drew down its ground forces.
The conflict is mostly seen as a proxy war between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran.
