TEHRAN – Ali Asqar Khaji, a senior aide to the Iranian foreign minister, on Wednesday underscored Tehran’s long-held policy that a comprehensive Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue will be the best choice to put an immediate end to the crisis in Yemen.

In a meeting with Sweden's Special Envoy for Yemen Peter Semneby in Tehran, Khaji laid emphasis on Tehran’s all-out efforts to restore peace and security to Yemen. 

“An immediate stop to clashes, removal of siege on the country and holding Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue are some necessities leading the country towards accessing a comprehensive solution to the protracted crisis,” Khaji said, adding that Iran welcomes continued cooperation with Sweden in this regard. 

He highlighted popular forces of Ansarullah’s adherence to the Stockholm agreement, but criticized the Saudi-led coalition for failing to fulfil their commitments under the agreement. 

Semneby, for his part, said that the Stockholm agreement is the first accepted deal among warring sides in Yemen, adding, “Sweden voices support for the Stockholm agreement as well as efforts made by the United Nations and UN special envoy for Yemeni affairs to attain comprehensive diplomatic solution.” 

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since March 2015 to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed more than 20,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children. Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

Yemen is the world’s largest humanitarian crisis with more than 22 million people in need and is seeing a spike in needs, fueled by ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and diminished social services and livelihoods. The blockade on Yemen has smothered humanitarian deliveries of food and medicine to the import-dependent state.

The UN has repeatedly criticized the Saudi-UAE-led military coalition's bombing campaign and placed it on a blacklist of child rights violators last year.

A UN panel has also compiled a detailed report of civilian casualties caused by the Saudi military and its allies during their war against Yemen, saying the Riyadh-led coalition has used precision-guided munitions in its raids on civilian targets.    

MJ/PA