Yemen Shiite Rebels Appoint an Ambassador to Iran for First Time

(Bloomberg) -- Yemen’s Houthi rebel government appointed its first ambassador to Iran, days after a delegation met Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, the rebel-held Saba news agency.

The appointment of Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Dailami is meant to boost ties between Yemen and Iran, the rebel leader, Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said on TV. Al-Houthi said the relationship with Tehran will be better than it was in the past as it’s based on “brotherhood and mutual causes,” such as the Palestinian issue.

The government of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi suspended diplomatic relations with Tehran in October 2015, accusing Iran of backing the Houthi rebels. The government of the Houthis, which is not recognized by the international community, only has an ambassador in Syria.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry arranged for the visiting Houthi delegation to meet the British, German, French and Italian ambassadors.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mohammed Hatem in Dubai at mhatem1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Riad Hamade at rhamade@bloomberg.net, Claudia Maedler

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