Iran slams US charges of alleged support for Houthis

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham responded Wednesday to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent claims that Iran has supported the Shiite Houthi militia in Yemen.

“The statements made by the U.S. secretary of state about Iran’s interference in the fall of the government of Yemen is nothing but a blame game completely in contradiction to what was previously mentioned by the US officials,” Afkham said.

Kerry had said on Tuesday he thinks Iran’s support for the Shiite Houthi militia played a role in the collapse of the Yemeni government.

Since it seized Sanaa last September, the Houthi group has sought to consolidate its control over other parts of the country as well.

Earlier this month, the Houthis issued a “constitutional declaration” dissolving parliament and establishing a 551-member transitional council.

The declaration was rejected, however, by most of Yemen’s political forces – along with some neighboring countries – which described it as a “coup against constitutional legitimacy.”

On Saturday, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi fled Sana’a, where he had been placed under house arrest by the Houthis, to the southern Aden city and declared he was still Yemen’s “legitimate” leader.

Upon his arrival in Aden, Hadi declared that all decisions taken by the Houthis since September were “null” and “illegitimate.”