UN envoy stresses need to safeguard progress made toward Yemen ceasefire during Tehran visit

RIYADH: The UN special envoy for Yemen stressed the need to safeguard the progress made toward a nationwide ceasefire in the country during a recent visit to Tehran.

“The special envoy stressed the need to safeguard the progress made toward a nationwide ceasefire, measures to improve Yemenis’ living conditions, and the resumption of a Yemeni-owned political process under UN auspices,” Hans Grundberg’s office said on Sunday.

Discussions with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and other diplomats also focused on the need to prevent a relapse into the cycle of violence which plagued Yemen until the UN-brokered truce of 2022 and de-escalate regional tensions.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have been targeting Red Sea shipping since November, saying they were hitting Israel-linked vessels in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The United States and Britain on Saturday struck dozens of targets in Yemen in response to repeated attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by the Houthis.