SANA'A: Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson slammed the Yemeni government for allowing violence to take place in Taiz. Many critics are skeptical of such a statement after Iran was much criticized for its harsh crackdown on protesters with the video of a young woman dying in the streets of Tehran was viewed by tens of thousands of shocked people across the world. Mehmanparast also went on to accuse the international community of idly standing by while innocent civilians were being killed. In an official statement, the Iranian official stressed that “any response to the demands of the Yemen people must meet their legitimate demands.” Furthermore, he added that Iran suspected that foreign hands were at work in Yemen, trying to destabilize the country, urging all political factions, tribes and civilians to remain vigilant. Since Iran has itself has been accuse of supporting and instigating unrest in Bahrain, analysts in Yemen are now wondering whether the Iranian “advice” towards Yemen does not forebode a desire from Tehran to get a foothold on Yemen. BM
