Obama Urges Iran to Play Positive Role in Yemen

President Barack Obama called on Iran help find a political solution in crisis-torn Yemen, accusing the Islamic republic of contributing to the conflict there.

Washington has accused Tehran of supplying arms to Huthi rebels who have seized power in Yemen, triggering a month-long Saudi-led Arab air campaign that has increased the risk of a regional conflict.

In an interview with MSNBC late Tuesday, Obama noted the suffering caused by the conflict and expressed hope "that we can settle down the situation in Yemen."

"What we need to do is bring all the parties together and find a political arrangement. It is not solved by having another proxy war in Yemen," he said.

"We've indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem," he said.

The Arab coalition announced a halt to their air campaign on Tuesday, saying the threat to Yemen's neighbors had been eliminated. But the bombing resumed on Wednesday.

The United States, which has provided logistics and intelligence support to the coalition, has sent an aircraft carrier to monitor the movements of Iranian ships.

"Right now their ships are in international waters," Obama said.

"There's a reason why we keep some of our ships in the Persian Gulf region and that is to make sure we maintain freedom of navigation," he said. 

"And what we’ve said to them is if there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that's a problem."

Earlier on Wednesday, the White House welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to halt the air strikes and urged talks to end the crisis.

"The United States welcomes today's announcement by the government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners of the conclusion of Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told Agence France Presse.

"We continue to support the resumption of a U.N.-facilitated political process and the facilitation of humanitarian assistance."

Sunni Muslim-dominated Saudi Arabia's decision to hit back at Huthi forces had risked sparking a confrontation with Shiite Iran, long a regional adversary.

Tensions had deepened in recent days amid reports of a nine-ship Iranian convoy in the area.

The U.S. Navy said it was sending in the USS Theodore Roosevelt and guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy to waters off Yemen.

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said media reports suggesting the Americans were preparing to prevent the Iranian convoy from reaching Yemen if it was carrying arms were "a bit over-cranked."

"We don't know what the Iranian convoy of ships plans to do, but we are watching them," Warren said. "By having American sea power in the region, we preserve our options."

According to the United Nations, 900 people have been killed in Yemen since late March, when the air strikes began.

The Saudis and their Gulf allies began launching air strikes on March 26 to try to restore to power exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, a Sunni who was driven out by the Huthis, a Shiite rebel group allegedly backed by Iran.

Iran denies supplying the rebels with arms, insisting it is providing only humanitarian relief to Yemen's civilians.