Lausanne, SWITZERLAND/TEHRAN, Iran
Iranian foreign minister has said that Saudi-led air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen "have to stop," but claimed that Tehran's focus remained on nuclear talks ahead of a March deadline.
Speaking in Lausanne, Switzerland where nuclear talks with the six major world powers have been taking place, Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned the air strikes in Yemen which began Wednesday.
Zarif said air strikes "have to stop. Everybody has to encourage dialogue and national reconciliation in Yemen rather than making it more difficult for Yemenis to come together."
Yemen has been in turmoil since last September when Shiite Houthi militants overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported remarks from Zarif who said that those "who have caused irreparable damage with their strategic blunders and ambitious policies" should instead work for peace in the region.
Nuclear talks
About the his nation's nuclear talks with permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- dubbed as P5+1 -- in Lausanne, Zarif said Iran and the U.S. discussed the situation in Yemen and but the focus was on reaching a political framework agreement by end-March.
Nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 continued Friday. The talks in Lausanne will run until Sunday.
Zarif and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are expected to be joined by P5+1 foreign ministers over the weekend.
The nuclear talks intensified recently due to concerns that failure to produce a framework deal before March 31 may jeopardize any positive outcome from a final agreement, which has a July 1 deadline.
The P5+1 countries claim Iran is developing nuclear weapons and want its program curbed in return for the lifting of sanctions. Tehran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes.
The deal sought by the six-member group would have Iran accept limits on its uranium enrichment capacity and would allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspections without interference.
