TEHRAN – Hisham Sharaf, the foreign minister of Yemen, said on Monday that there is no such thing as Iranian interference in Yemen’s internal affairs, noting that Iran would be a peace partner for the Yemenis.

“Iran does not interfere in Yemen’s internal affairs. We manage our affairs by ourselves. But the Iranians are our friends,” the chief Yemeni diplomat said in an interview with the Monte Carlo Doualiya radio.
 
Sharaf called on those who claim that Iran is interfering in Yemen’s affairs to explain their claim.

“Anyone who says that Iran is interfering in the affairs of Yemen should tell the world what this interference is? With respect to weapons and military strikes, we carry out these attacks ourselves, relying on our own weapons depots. Iran, God willing, will be one of the parties to peace. I emphasize again that Iran will be one of the parties to this peace. A peace that all the people of Yemen will enjoy. There is no Iranian interference in our internal affairs,” the Yemeni foreign minister asserted.

Sharaf’s comments came at a time when Saudi Arabia keeps accusing Iran of interfering in Yemen’s internal affairs.

Iran has recently appointed a new ambassador to Yemen. The ambassador, Hassan Irlou, has submitted his credentials to the Yemen foreign minister.

Iran has said the appointment of Irlou will open a new chapter in Iran-Yemen relations.

“Yemen is not a playground for aggressors. We consider the future of Yemen to all Yemenis. The beginning of the mission of Mr. Hassan Irlou, a diplomat of good manners, expert and professional, as our country’s new ambassador in Sanaa, will be a new chapter in the constructive relations between Iran and Yemen,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the special aide to the speaker of the Iranian Parliament on international affairs, said in a tweet, shortly after the appointment of Irlou.

Irlou has said Iran will work with the Yemeni government to achieve peace in Yemen.

“We will cooperate with the Yemeni government to establish security and peace and uproot terrorism,” tweeted the new ambassador while strongly condemning the assassination of Hassan Zaid, Yemen’s minister of sports and the youth.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has outlined the main contours of Irlou’s mission in Yemen.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Irlou’s agenda in Yemen includes strengthening national reconciliation, ending the war in Yemen through cooperation among Yemeni and international players, weakening the blockade on Yemen, and encouraging Yemeni tribes and political groups to resolve their internal problems through Yemeni-Yemeni talks.

Irlou published a tweet shortly after arriving in Sanaa, but Twitter blocked the ambassador’s Twitter account without providing any explanation. Irlou said he did not make any remarks in violation of Twitter rules, adding that Twitter moved to delete his account under the pressure of the Saudi lobby. The ambassador created a new account on Twitter after his previous account was deleted.

“Unfortunately, my first Twitter account was blocked without any justification, and while I did not make any mistake. According to the threats and information that I received from Saudi Arabia, the Saudi lobby has bought Twitter to suppress the voice of righteousness and the voice of their opponents,” tweeted Irlou, using his new Twitter account.

SM/PA