The United States and the European Union are publicly at odds over whether Iran can play a constructive role in Yemen peace talks, further splitting the two allies regarding how best to deal with Tehran.
The Donald Trump administration had asked the UN to reject Iran’s request to have a senior Foreign Ministry official attend this week’s talks in Sweden between President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s government and the Houthi rebels, Al-Monitor first reported last week. On Monday, that same official — Hossein Jaberi Ansari — addressed the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, which subsequently praised Iran’s endorsement of the peace talks under the auspices of UN envoy Martin Griffiths.