Houthis ask Iran to establish cultural centers in Yemen

SANAA

A delegation representing Yemen's Shiite Houthi group – now on a visit to Iranian capital Tehran – on Saturday proposed the establishment of Iranian cultural centers and a school of Persian literature in Yemen, Iranian media has reported.

The members of the delegation paid a visit to the offices of the Iranian Arabic language newspaper Al-Vefagh and lauded the role the newspaper played in backing the "revolution of the Yemeni people," according to the official Iranian news agency.

"Iran can help Yemen in the services sector," the agency quoted a Houthi delegate as saying.

Another delegate, meanwhile, suggested the establishment of Iranian cultural centers and a school of Persian literature in Yemen.

The delegate also called for fighting media and "cultural assaults" that seek to distort Iran's image.

There has been a rise in the number of Houthi delegations visiting Iran following the initiation of direct flights between Sanaa and Tehran late last month.

Houthis have captured Yemen's capital Sanaa in September of 2014. In early February of this year, they issued what they called a "constitutional declaration," dissolving Yemen's parliament.

They also put Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi under house arrest before he escaped to the southern city of Aden later and announced what he described as their "coup" against his legitimacy "null" and "void."

Yemen has been suffering turmoil since 2011.