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Yemeni president recalls ambassador from Iran

May 15, 2015 at 10:53 am

Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has recalled his country’s ambassador from Tehran “expeditiously”, a local source has revealed. In an exclusive statement to Anadolu, the anonymous source said that the order came from the president himself, who is in exile in Riyadh.

As there had been no official statement by the Yemeni authorities in this respect by the time it went to press, Anadolu could not get an immediate response from the government in Tehran.

Hadi accuses Iran of supporting the Houthi militias and their coup against his legitimacy in Yemen. According to comments published by the official Yemen News Agency (SABA), Foreign Minister Riyad Mansour said on Thursday that his government “is considering cutting diplomatic relations with Iran.”

In March, a Saudi-led coalition launched “Operation Decisive Storm” with bombing raids on “military targets” used by the Houthis and forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The operation ended on 21 April, to be replaced by “Operation Restore Hope” the following day. Its goal is the resumption of the political process in Yemen as well as ongoing air raids against the Houthis to prevent them from using their weapons.