Iran's Rouhani says military approach will fail in Yemen - State TV

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told Qatar's ruler on Monday that a military approach in Yemen would fail, Iranian state TV reported, after Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombarded Iran-aligned Houthi fighters holed up at the airport of the country's main port city Hodeidah.
 
"The crisis in Yemen should be resolved through political channels ... a military approach will fail ... Yemen's stability and security is important for the Middle East," state TV reported Rouhani telling Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in a phone call.
 
Shiite Muslim Iran is involved in a proxy war with Sunni Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, where Tehran backs President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, Shi'ite militias in Iraq, Houthi forces in Yemen's conflict and Lebanon's Hezbollah.
 
Saudi Arabia is leading a Sunni Arab coalition fighting the Houthis in the impoverished state on the tip of the Arabian peninsula.
 
Iran rejects accusations from Saudi Arabia that it is giving financial and military support to the Houthis in the struggle for Yemen, blaming the deepening crisis on Riyadh.
 
There are fears that a prolonged battle for the city, where the Houthis are dug in to protect critical supply lines from the Red Sea to their bastion in the capital Sanaa, could aggravate what is already the world's most urgent humanitarian crisis.
 
"We regard as incorrect the adventurous policies of certain regional countries and believe that the continuation of this process will undoubtedly intensify the existing regional crisis," Rouhani said.
 
Iranian TV reported that Qatar's ruler said "all regional conflicts can be solved only through dialogue and no country can impose its stance on others."