Iran begins diplomatic effort to solve Yemen crisis

Iran has launched a diplomatic effort to solve the crisis in Yemen, as the Saudi-led "Decisive Storm" campaign continued for a sixth day.

Official Iranian news agencies on Wednesday reported that the Iranian first deputy foreign minister, Morteza Sarmadi, was in Oman on the first stop of a tour of several countries in the region.

Muscat has in the past acted as a mediator between Iran and other nations in a number of disputes.

Iran's assistant foreign minister, Hussein Amir Abdul-Lahian, said he hoped Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said would help bring all parties to talks, propose political solutions and seek an end to military intervention.

Abdul-Lahian, who is currently in Kuwait at a Syria fundraising conference, said on Tuesday that Iran had a proposal to resolve the Yemeni crisis and was trying to communicate with Saudi Arabia to discuss it.

Saudi Arabia and its allies say Iran is supporting the Houthi movement in Yemen, and has helped it overrun large parts of the country including the capital, Sanaa. Iran rejects those claims.

Saudi Arabia's alliance began bombing Houthi-controlled areas last week as the fighters closed in on the southern port of Aden, where the internationally recognised president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, had fled after escaping house arrest in the capital.

Abdul-Lahian called on the UN to act immediately to stop the airstrikes in Yemen, saying they could ignite the entire region.

Iranian deputy foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, meanwhile said Iran and Saudi Arabia could work together to solve the conflict.

"Iran and Saudi Arabia can cooperate to solve the Yemeni crisis," Abdollahian said in Kuwait on Tuesday. "We recommend all parties in Yemen return to calm and dialogue."

He called the military action in Yemen "a strategic mistake... a political solution requires an immediate halt and the start of dialogue between all the Yemeni parties."

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry denied that Iran had sent military aid to the Houthis, describing reports as "baseless lies". Only medical supplies had been sent, the spokesman added.

This is an edited translation of the original Arabic.