IRANIAN FM VISIT TO YEMEN DELAYED

SANA'A, Oct. 18 (Saba) - The visit of Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to Yemen, which was scheduled next Monday, was postponed.

Well-informed sources said to Saba on Sunday that Mottaki's visit had been delayed until next week.

"The current concerns of President Ali Abdullah Saleh were the reason of the delay", declared the sources.

Mottaki was expected to convey a letter to President Saleh from his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad concerning the bilateral relations.

Mottaki has told the Iranian semi-official Mehr News Agency that the visit comes because Iran gives more attention to its ties with Yemen.

"Iran seeks to help bring stability to this Muslim country", he said.

There were accusations against Iranian bodies of supporting the al-Houthi rebels, who have been fighting government troops since 2004 in the northern governorate of Saada.

However, Yemen does not point directly to the Iranian official side, as it affirms it has collected much evidence over Iranian aid for the al-Houthis.

In this regard, Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi reiterated last Saturday that Iran supported the insurgents, pointing to previous announcements by the Iranian government when it offered to help put an end to the conflict in Saada and Amran, northern Yemen.

"Iran's stance over the issue, either through its offers to help end the conflict or expressing its concerns about the escalating situation, has proved Iran is involved, hence, there is no need to talk about further evidence over the involvement", said al-Qirbi.

AF/AF