Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has said during a meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday October 13 that a "proper end" to the war in Yemen, will leave a positive impact on developments in the region.
Khamenei said, "a four-point solution offered by Iran has been on the table for a long time" and suggested that it could put an end to the war in Yemen. However, he did not elaborate on the details of his peace plan.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan who is visiting Tehran on a mediation effort, has called for an end to the conflict in Yemen during his meetings with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Sunday.
Image of Zarif's tweet in November 2017
The plan Khamenei referred to was briefly summarized by Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in a November 9, 2017 tweet as: "cease-fire, humanitarian assistance, ultra-Yemeni dialogue, and an inclusive government for 2.5 years that could be extended beyond that period."
Zarif said Iran offered the plan to the UN Secretary General in 2015 immediately after the war broke out between the Saudi coalition and the Houthis in Yemen.
Imran Khan has said on several occasions, most recently during the UN General Assembly in New York in late September that he was prepared to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions in the Persian Gulf region and between Tehran and Washington, to broker negotiations to solve their long-standing problems.
During the meeting, Khamenei said the security situation in West Asia was "very serious" and called on all sides to avoid any new incident. He also expressed regret for "some regional countries' support for terrorism and bloodshed in Iraq and the war in Yemen."
However, he said "We have no motivation for enmity with those countries. But if any country starts a war against Iran, it will have to repent later."
During the Sunday morning meeting with Imran Khan, Rouhani called for a change in the strategy of regional players, as "the solution to the region's problems is political dialogue with good will, with the objective of restoring security and expanding ties between neighbors.”
He stressed that Iran's policy is restoring peace and stability in the region, adding that "Tehran is always prepared for dialogue and expansion of ties with its neighbors."
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Referring to the alleged attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea on Friday, Rouhani said such incidents lead to more insecurity in the region, adding that Iran was still investigating the case and has some evidence, adding that the investigation will continue until the perpetrators are known.
Meanwhile, both Rouhani and Imran Khan stressed that the first step to reduce tensions in the region should be putting an end to the war in Yemen. They said they will support any measure to this end.
Rouhani said it is only Israel that benefits from tensions in the region. Imran Khan agreed with Rouhani that countries beyond the region benefit from existing tensions and said that Pakistan was ready to play a part to restore peace and security in the region by mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Rouhani also maintained that everything is prepared for expanding Iran's trade with Pakistan to $5 billion dollars, adding Iran is adamant to expand trade relations with all of its neighbors.
Currently, U.S. sanctions have greatly reduced Iran’s oil and non-oil exports, as well as its ability to pay for imports.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said the U.S. proposal to negotiate with Iran without any preconditions is not honest, adding that Iran has always insisted that it is ready to talk within the frameworks of the 2015 nuclear deal once the U.S. lifts its sanctions.