Sharm El-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Yemen’s Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin has called for Arab military intervention in Yemen, warning that Tehran is supplying the Shi’ite Houthi movement with heavy artillery, in comments to Asharq Al-Awsat on the sidelines of a forthcoming Arab League summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Yassin said Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi is currently on his way to the Red Sea resort to attend the Arab League summit after being forced to flee Aden following the Houthi advance on the city. “It is confirmed that President Hadi will participate in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit. As for how or when he will arrive, nobody knows,” the Yemeni foreign minister said.

He said: “We are calling for an Arab force made up of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Egypt [to intervene in Yemen]. While any other Arab state is also welcome to join this force. We want Arab states to shoulder their responsibility and not just stand idly by during these difficult circumstances, particularly as this would mean that Iranian control had reached the Bab El-Mandeb strait.”

The Yemeni foreign minister warned that the Houthis are heavily armed and closing in on Aden. The Shi’ite group is already in control of territory in northern and central parts of the country.

Although Saudi Arabian warplanes carried out airstrikes on Houthi targets in the country on Thursday, Yassin stressed that it would require joint Arab efforts to dislodge the Shi’ite movement’s militias.

“The Houthi group has taken over the Yemeni missile defense system although they lacked some hardware that would allow them to operate it. But the Iranians have now given them the equipment to activate it and turn the missiles on Aden. This is a major threat and we are therefore calling for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Yemen immediately,” he said.

Yassin also played down hopes that a deal could be reached with the Houthis, warning that the group is not interested in negotiations. “They reject dialogue and are seeking to impose a new reality on the ground by force of arms,” he said.

The Yemeni foreign minister praised the Arab League for its positive response to the Houthi advance, stressing that he is certain the organization will do everything in its power to assist Yemen’s legitimate authorities.

“We have seen a great understanding and response from the Arab League General Secretariat . . . Yemen is now the major issue on the Arab scene,” he said.