Washington: In what could be a step towards bettering the situation in Yemen, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced it was ending its nearly one-month-long air strikes campaign in the strife-torn country.


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Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has sent out a blunt warning to Iran, telling it not to send weapons to the rebels. 


Speaking in an interview to the MSNBC channel, Obama said that, “If there are weapons delivered to factions within Yemen that could threaten navigation, that's a problem”.


"And we're not sending them obscure messages. We send them very direct messages about it," Obama added.


Earlier, Pentagon too voiced concern about Iranian ships in international waters near Yemen, said a report in the Voice of America.


Pentagon has said that the US was reinforcing its naval presence in the Gulf of Aden with an eye on Iranian ships' convoy, which could deliver weapons to Houthi rebels.


The US had sent two warships -USS Theodore Roosevelt and USS Normandy- to the waters off Yemen to thwart any Iranian ship from delivering arms to the rebels in Yemen.


“What we see is a deteriorating security situation that could potentially result in a maritime threat..It's hard to predict the future, so what we need to have are options," the VoA quoted ” said Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren. 


Obama also hoped for political solution that could settle the situation in Yemen and not another “proxy war”.


“What we need to do is bring all the parties together and find a political arrangement. It is not solved by having another proxy war in Yemen. We’ve indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem,” Obama said.


Obama's warning to Iran comes as Saudi Arabia defense ministry announced the end of the air strikes in Yemen as the threat was eliminated and military objectives of Operation Decisive Storm were achieved.



"The air strikes, with participation of the Saudi brave hawks with brothers in the coalition countries, have successfully managed to thwart the threat on the security of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries," Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defense said in the statement.


Saudi also said that at the request of Yemeni President Hadi, the focus will now shift from military operations to the political process, beginning a new phase - Operation Restore Hope - in Yemen.


However, Saudi Arabia has made it clear that the coalition will continue to protect Yemeni people, and will counter any military moves by the Houthis or their allies.


The Houthis captured Sanaa in September and continued advancing taking large swathes of Yemen, forcing President Hadi to flee to Riyadh.


The UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo on the rebels.


As per the World Health Organization, 944 people were reported killed and 3,487 wounded in the four weeks of violence in Yemen.