Kerry commends Saudi-led strikes

Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and a senior Iranian official about the crisis in Yemen on Thursday, a US official said.

Kerry spoke via conference call with foreign ministers from the GCC about the situation in Yemen.

"He commended the work of the coalition taking military action against the Houthis and noted the United States' support for those coalition efforts, including intelligence sharing, targeting assistance, and advisory and logistical support for strikes against Houthi targets," said State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke. 

The ministers, while expressing support for political negotiations as the best way to resolve the crisis, also defended the Saudi campaign in the conflict-torn country against the as the Houthis have resorted to the use of force, according to Rathke. 

"There is no purely military solution to the situation in Yemen," Rathke said. "However, we also understand the Saudis' concerns, especially given the Houthis' failure to, you know, engage meaningfully in the political dialogue process."

Kerry also met one-on-one with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Lausanne to discuss the Yemeni crisis. The Swiss city is currently hosting negotiations between world powers and Iran on and its controversial nuclear programme. 

The situation in Yemen is not affecting those talks, Rathke said.