The United States provides limited military support to a Saudi-led coalition which for two years has been fighting in support of Yemen's government against rebels supported by Iran.
The Houthis seized much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, in a series of military operations that began in 2014, eventually forcing Hadi to flee.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (R) is greeted by Saudi Armed Forces Chief of Joint Staff General Abdul Rahman Al Banyan (L) upon his arrival at King Salman Air Base, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, April 18, 2017.
The United Nations says that more than 7,700 people have been killed over the past two years in Yemen, which also faces a serious risk of starvation this year.
According to the state-run news agency MENA, Asiri retracted the statement he released during an interview with Saudi privately-owned news channel Al-Arabyia, in which he said that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi informed Saudi Arabia that Egypt can participate in the Yemen war by almost 40,000 conscripts on the ground.
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This plot would have been initiated from the Yemeni border, which prompted Saudi forces to move to protect the kingdom's territory, Asiri said, referring to the military intervention launched by Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Arab countries in 2015 codenamed Operation Decisive Storm. After a spate of Saudi-led bombings killed dozens of Yemeni civilians in 2016, the Obama administration curbed arms sales and some military support to the Saudis. Bahrain also lost five soldiers, though it was not clear if they were killed in the same incident.
He said political solution via UN-brokered negotiations is needed to resolve the conflict in Yemen. As part of efforts to reform the oil-reliant economy, past year Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman removed from their positions the Kingdom's long-serving oil and finance ministers, Ali al-Naimi and Ibrahim al-Assaf.
The Saudi-led coalition accuses Iran of trying to use the Houthis to expand its influence in Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also Saudi defense minister, met Trump at the White House last month.
Seven ceasefires brokered between government and rebel forces by the United Nations have failed while U.N. -backed peace talks have repeatedly broken down.
Over the past weeks, fighting has been intensified in the western coastline regions.
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