A United States strike on Iraq would undermine regional security and stability, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told a visiting Iraqi minister on Monday.
"Changing a regime in any country is up to that country's people, and the use of force against Iraq would undermine security and stability, and heighten tension" in the Middle East region, he said in the course of a meeting with Iraqi Culture Minister Hamed Yussef Humadi.
The Yemeni leader also called on the international community to intervene to secure an end to United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the official SABA news agency reported.
Saleh later told an Iranian envoy, Ayatollah Ahmed Janati, chairman of a top constitutional watchdog body, that Islamic nations should "close ranks in order to thwart those who seek to drive a wedge between brethren," SABA reported.
He was apparently referring to a sharp attack on Tehran by Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, who charged on Saturday that there was no "single episode in history when the Persians (Iranians) have cooperated with the Arabs against the Zionists."
Iran on Monday filed a formal complaint with Baghdad over Ramadan's tirade, Iranian state radio reported. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
