Strike Houthis while Iran is weak, UN-backed Yemeni government urges west

Tehran ‘massively weakened’ by reverses in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza, says vice-president of Aden-based administration

Middle East crisis – live updates

The west should seize the opportunity to target the Tehran-backed Houthi leadership in Yemen while the Iranian government is weakened, the vice-president of the UN-backed government in Aden has said.

Aidarus al-Zoubaidi said that Iran’s reverses in Lebanon, Syria and Gaza had left the country “massively weakened”. “They have one remaining domain and that is Yemen,” Zoubaidi told the Guardian. “Now is the time to counter the Houthis and push them back into their position.”

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