A senior adviser to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, says ending Saudi Arabia's extremely “savage bombardments” should be a precondition for any talks on Yemen's situation.

Ali Akbar Velayati said Monday that any discussion on the Arab country’s future should be mediated by international entities and should only be attended by Yemenis.

“This can be done with the mediation of an international organization such as the United Nations and only between Yemeni sides and at an impartial location,” said Velayati, who is currently in Lebanon to take part in an international meeting on Palestine.

Referring to an ongoing conference on Yemen's situation in the Saudi capital city of Riyadh, Velayati reiterated that such meetings should be held in a neutral country as the Saudis themselves are part of the conflict, adding that internal the affairs of Yemen have nothing to do with other states, including Saudi Arabia.



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Yemen's fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi (C) arrives for the opening of a conference on Yemen in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, on May 17, 2015. © AFP[/caption]

Saudi Arabia launched its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 - without a UN mandate - in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls the capital, Sana’a, and other major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh.

According to Yemen's Freedom House Foundation, the Saudi airstrikes have claimed the lives of at least 3,979 Yemeni people so far while more than 6,887 others have been wounded.

Syria, Lebanon can defeat extremism

Elsewhere in his remarks, Velayati touched upon the rising wave of terrorist activities in Middle East countries, including Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, adding that Islamic governments need to cooperate in the fight against terror groups.

He expressed hope that Syria could finally “get rid of the Takfiris” in order to protect its independence and sovereignty. He also voiced support for Lebanon’s help for Syria in the fight against terrorism, saying that if the aid continues to be delivered, the people of Syria and Lebanon could be freed from extremism and radicalism “in the very near future.”



[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] A handout picture released by the Hezbollah press office on May 13, 2015, shows a Hezbollah fighter raising the flag of the party on the Tallit Moussa hill on the Syrian side of the Qalamoun area close to the Lebanese borders. © AFP[/caption]

Over the past two weeks, Syrian army forces and Lebanon's resistance group Hezbollah have made considerable gains in the battle against Takfiri militants in Qalamoun border region, raising hopes for the full liberation of the strategic area in the coming days.
Hezbollah’s contribution to the battle comes amid fears the deadly crisis in Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 222,000 people during the past four years, could spill over into neighboring Lebanon, a country deeply divided along the sectarian lines.

By Press TV