Iran urges Riyadh to aim at Israel

TEHRAN, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- The military of Saudi Arabia should turn its weapons on Israel rather than take on Shiite rebels battling the Yemeni government, Iranian officials said.

Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, weighed in on the Saudi military incursion into Yemen aimed at al-Houthi rebels, saying Riyadh should aim its arsenal on Israel instead, state-broadcaster Press TV reports.

"If (the) Saudis have rockets, why don't they use them against Israel?" he asked. "The Saudi government is Islamic and should not excite division among Muslims."

Larijani blamed the Saudi government for carrying out a "seditious act" by intervening in the Yemeni conflict, blaming Riyadh for killing innocent Muslims.

Tehran said it supports a united and stable Yemen, though the Yemeni government blames Tehran for backing the rebel group.

Riyadh, for its part, entered the battle after al-Houthi rebels clashed with border guards. Tehran challenged the notion the conflict was limited to border security, pointing to Saudi airstrikes more than 50 miles inside Yemeni territory.

Yemen launched a major military crackdown on al-Houthi rebels in August. The Sunni government in Sanaa accuses the Shiite rebel group of attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region.