The comments by Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi published in pan-Arab daily Al Hayat newspaper.

“Unfortunately, Iranian interference still exists, whether through its support for the Hirak separatists or some religious groups in northern Yemen,” Hadi told Al Hayat, apparently referring to the Shi’ite Muslim Houthi rebels who are trying to capture more territory in the northern part of the country.

“We asked our Iranian brothers to revise their wrong policies towards Yemen, but our demands have not borne fruit. We have no desire to escalate (the situation) with Tehran but at the same time we hope it will lift its hand off Yemen,” he said.

Last year Yemen said that a ship intercepted off its coast was an Iranian vessel trying to smuggle explosives and surface-to-air missiles to the country.