Yemen rejects Iran's condemnation of military operations on the border

Dubai: The Yemeni government on Sunday rejected Iran's condemnation of military operations on its borders, saying it proved Iran's "biased" attitude to insurgency in the country.

Information Minister Hassan Lawzi was responding to Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani's criticism of Saudi Arabia's "interference in the Yemen conflict".

"His and other [Iranian] statements show that some Iranian circles are supporting the rebellion and the armed insurgency in Sa'ada province," Lawzi told Gulf News.

Armed insurgency has "unfortunately spread to the borders with Saudi Arabia," he said even as Yemeni and Saudi shelling of rebel positions continued for the 12th day yesterday.

Earlier, Larijani was quoted as telling the parliament that "the interference of the Saudi government in Yemen and bombardments with Tornado and F-15 fighter jets against helpless Muslims in Yemen is astonishing."

The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) also quoted him as saying that reports indicate that the US government also cooperated and assisted in such aggressive measures.

However, Lawzi reiterated accusations that Iran was supporting the rebels financially and militarily, a charge denied by Iran.

Larijani's visit

During Larijani's visit to Yemen earlier this year, Lawzi said he "was handed a file from the director of the President's office which included the interference of some [Iranian] authorities in Yemen's affairs."

After that some have stopped supporting the rebels, but others including Al Alam TV channel continued, he added. The channel was suspended from broadcasting to the Arab countries.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni government spokesperson doubted some Arab press reports which said Pakistanis are fighting with Al Houthis. "I don't have information on this," Lawzi said.