Iran’s Envoy Skeptical about Biden’s Policy on Yemen

In a tweet on Friday, Hassan Irloo downplayed Joe Biden’s recent comments about the US’ push to step up diplomacy to end the war in Yemen, saying, “I am not optimistic about the remarks from Americans.”

“The new US administration’s policy is certainly different from the previous administration, which is imposing direct political and military presence in Yemen, like what happened in Iraq and Syria,” the Iranian ambassador said.

Irloo also stressed the need to rely only on God and the people of Yemen, who have displayed “historic patience and resistance” and will go on until “ultimate victory”.

In a speech at the US State Department on Thursday, Biden said he was stepping up diplomacy to end “a war which has created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe” in Yemen.

“I've asked my Middle East team to ensure our support for the United Nations-led initiative to impose a ceasefire, open humanitarian channels, and restore long-dormant peace talks,” the new US president said.

Saudi Arabia and a coalition of its vassal states launched the war on Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall a Riyadh-backed former regime.

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies, chief among them the United Arab Emirates, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Riyadh-allied former President Abd Rabbouh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing popular Ansarullah Houthi movement.

The war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in Yemen, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization.

The Saudi-led coalition has also enforced an all-out aerial, naval, and land blockade on the impoverished country.

The war has taken a heavy toll on Yemen's infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.