Mottaki plans trip to Yemen amid internal strife

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki says he has plans to visit Yemen in order to help the country resolve the crisis between Sana'a and opposition forces.

“In this visit, I will carry a letter from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to his Yemeni counterpart Ali Abdullah Saleh,” Mottaki told the Mehr News Agency.

The trip came after the Sana'a government invited Iran for a visit to mediate between Houthi Shia fighters and the Yemeni leaders and thus quell the humanitarian crisis.

Yemeni government forces and Houthi Shias ---who say they have been marginalized politically, economically and religiously by the government--- have been engaged in a periodic war in the northern parts of the country.

Internal strife turned into a full-fledged war after the army unleashed Operation Scorched Earth on Aug. 11.

Yemen claims that the Houthi fighters are trying to restore the Zaidi imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.

But the Houthis, who make up around 40 percent of Yemen's overall population, say that they are defending their people and fighting for their civil rights.

According to UN figures, the continued unrest has displaced around 50,000 people in the past month alone, bringing the total count to 150,000 since 2004.

Tehran's government says it fully supports a united and stable Yemen, rejecting claims that Iran has been interfering in the Arab country's internal affairs.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has invariably stressed the importance of Yemen's territorial integrity and the independence, sovereignty and national unity of the country," read a recent statement by Iran's embassy in Manama.

"Iran, alongside the Republic of Yemen, is exerting efforts within the context of peace, security and stability. We believe that increasing tension and debates that lead to bloodshed do not serve peace, stability or national unity in Yemen," it continued.

"We hope to see national unity, security and stability in the Republic of Yemen, through measures and the wisdom of the leadership and government of Yemen," the statement added.