ISTANBUL
Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani rejected allegations that Yemen's Houthi insurgency is being funded by Shiite Iran.
"Iran always supports democracy and stability in Yemen as it always has in Egypt, Tunisia, Afghanistan and Syria," Larijani said during a press conference in Istanbul on Thursday. “Iran believes the Yemeni people should decide their own future."
Yemen was rocked by more instability on Monday when Houthi militants clashed with presidential guard units before taking control of the presidential palace in Sanaa.
The Houthis, who have been in control of Sanaa since September, also detained Prime Minister Khaled Bahah inside the palace.
Some Arab countries have alleged that the Houthi insurgency is being funded by Iran.
Larijani, however, said that when the U.S. invaded Iraq, Iran supported the Iraqi people and democracy. He also criticized the Charlie Hebdo cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad.
"It cannot be called freedom of expression,” he added. “To insult religious values is not freedom of expression."
The French magazine's first issue after the recent deadly attack on its Paris headquarters featured a caricature resembling Prophet Muhammad on the cover.
The decision to republish the derogatory cartoons has drawn the ire of the Muslim world at large and was widely condemned by a number of leaders, including Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Larijani also condemned Thursday's attack near a hotel in Mogadishu where a Turkish delegation was preparing for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Somalia on Friday.
