Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday that Tehran is ready to provide any kind of assistance to help stop the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
He made the remarks in a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty on the sidelines of the 52nd Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, according to a statement released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
Araghchi stressed that 12 years of tension and conflict have shown that there is no military solution or approach to the Yemen issue.
He highlighted Iran's commitment to diplomacy and peace in the region, stressing that the country has always been committed to de-escalating tensions, while adopting a "responsible" approach toward diplomacy.
Araghchi had voiced Iran's readiness to provide assistance to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen during a phone conversation with his Saudi counterpart on Oct. 11.
Iran's offers of mediation come amid a sharp escalation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis, with intensified Saudi air operations against Houthi-held areas accompanying repeated Houthi missile and drone attacks on targets inside Saudi Arabia, including airports and energy facilities.
Iran's FM renews Tehran's offer to help end Saudi-Yemen conflict
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Japan on Saturday strongly condemned some Japanese politicians' actions related to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, after a Japanese leader sent a ritual offering to the shrine and some cabinet ministers and lawmakers visited it.
In response to a media inquiry, the spokesperson said that during World War II, Japan launched wars of aggression against other countries and committed inhumane atrocities.
China strongly condemns these negative actions by the Japanese side concerning the Yasukuni Shrine, the spokesperson said.
China solemnly urges Japan to deeply reflect on its history of aggression, face up to its war responsibilities, act and speak with extreme caution regarding issues such as the Yasukuni Shrine, make a clean break with militarism, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions, the spokesperson said.
Japanese Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy Minoru Kiuchi visited the Yasukuni Shrine on Saturday morning, becoming the first member of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet reported to have visited the shrine during its autumn festival this year.
Kiuchi offered "masakaki," a ritual offering of evergreen branches, at the shrine, while House of Representatives Speaker Eisuke Mori and House of Councilors President Masakazu Sekiguchi also sent offerings, Kyodo News reported. The shrine's three-day autumn festival began on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Kyodo News reported that Takaichi had sent a "masakaki" offering to the shrine under her title of prime minister.
Takaichi, a conservative politician who regularly visited the shrine before becoming prime minister last year, is unlikely to visit it during the current festival, Kyodo News reported, citing a source close to her.
Yasukuni Shrine, located in central Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, enshrines 14 convicted Japanese Class-A war criminals from World War II. It has long been a source of diplomatic frictions between Japan and its neighbors.
For a long time, visits and ritual offerings made by Japanese officials to the controversial shrine have repeatedly sparked criticism and opposition both at home and abroad, hurting the feelings of the people of China, South Korea, and other countries and regions victimized by Japan's wartime aggression.
Chinese embassy slams Japan for politicians' visits, offerings to war-linked Yasukuni Shrine
