TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said the Yemeni crisis should be resolved through diplomacy, urging an end to the killing of Yemeni civilians by the Saudi-led aggression.

Zarif made the remarks in a meeting with spokesman of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, in Tehran on Saturday.

The top Iranian diplomat voiced Tehran’s support for the Yemeni-Yemeni talks and the establishment of a ceasefire in the country, according to Press TV.

He said the Islamic Republic is ready to send humanitarian aid to the war-torn country.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah.

The U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 91,000 lives over the past four and a half years.

The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

During his meeting with Zarif, Abdul-Salam hailed Iran's support for the Yemeni people and discussed the latest developments in Yemen, possible political ways to settle the ongoing crisis and the humanitarian situation in the country.

Zarif says there is only political solution to Yemen crisis

After the meeting, Zarif took to Twitter to reiterate that there is only a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.

“Met with Yemen’s Mohammad Abdul-Salam in Tehran today. Discussed range of issues, incl latest efforts to end the Saudi-led war & humanitarian catastrophe,” he said.

“There is only a political solution to this man-made calamity, and it can only be achieved with participation of all actors,” the foreign minister added.

Back on October 13, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said a proper end to the ongoing war can have “positive” effects on the region, highlighting Iran’s plan as a suitable solution to this crisis.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has for a long time presented a four-point plan to end the war in Yemen,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Tehran.

“The end of this war in the proper way can have positive effects on the region,” he added.

MH/PA