UAE says it sees ‘systematic’ Iranian meddling in Yemen, region

ABU DHABI — Iran is meddling in Yemen's conflict and elsewhere in the region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign minister said on Wednesday, and Gulf Arab states had little grounds for hoping they could build normal ties with Tehran.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed added at a news conference that a Saudi-led coalition now attacking Iranian-allied Houthi fighters in Yemen wanted a UN Security Council resolution requiring all parties to take part in dialogue and imposing a ban on arms purchases by Houthis and other groups "that are out of line".

Asked about evidence to back up allegations by Saudi- and US-backed Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi that Shiite Muslim Iran provided support for Shiite Houthi militia fighters opposed to his rule, Sheikh Abdullah replied:

"Iran is not carrying out this activity only in Yemen, it is doing the same activity in Lebanon, in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and in Pakistan.

"Someone might say that the information provided by Yemen is not accurate, but there is systematic action that has been going for years on the idea of exporting the [Iranian] revolution."

Sunni Muslim Gulf Arabs could have "positive, normal" ties with Tehran, he said, "but Iran is not giving its partners in the region this hope... Each time we try to come close to Iran it starts spoiling the region, making [matters] difficult for our countries."

Iran denies arming the Houthis and has condemned the Saudi-led offensive against the Houthis of which the UAE is a part. It sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, saying they would protect Iranian shipping.