Iran's Mottaki postpones visit to Yemen

TEHRAN, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki postponed a planned to visit Yemen because of concerns from the Yemeni president.

Mottaki said he planned to deliver a message from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the Yemeni government in an effort to resolve lingering conflict with Shiite rebels, Iran's state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.

Yemen launched a major military offensive against al-Houthi rebels in the north of the country in early August. The government claimed it found Iranian-made weapons at depots used by al-Houthi rebels, who the government accuses of attempting to establish a caliphate in the region.

Yemen's official Saba news agency recounted claims in the Egyptian media that Iranian Embassy officials in Cairo were recruiting Yemeni students in Egypt to fight for the Yemeni insurgency.

Tehran in a statement released in early October through its embassy in Bahrain said it has stressed the importance of the independence, sovereignty and unity of Yemen, countering the claims of interference.

Mottaki said he would travel to Yemen next week. It was unclear why the visit was postponed, though the Yemen Observer cites "concerns" from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.