Saudi Arabia To Prosecute Men Who Marry Yemeni Women ‘Without Permission’

Saudi Arabia has asked its men to be careful before marrying “unidentified” Yemeni women. People who get married to foreigners without permission will be prosecuted, Saudi authorities warned.

According to a Saudi interior ministry statement Thursday, some elderly men from areas near the Yemeni border have asked authorities to legalize their marriage with "unidentified" women.

"Due to the serious consequences resulting from this issue, [the interior ministry] urges citizens to observe the law, pointing out that anyone who marries a foreign woman without prior permission will be brought before the competent authorities for punishment for dealing with unidentified people," Al Jazeera quoted the ministry as saying.

The Saudi king declared in May that Yemenis would be allowed to live legally in Saudi Arabia, where the country’s military involvement will be controversial.

According to Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, a senior diplomat in Iran, the Yemen crisis can only be solved through dialogue. He said Thursday that military measures would further complicate the situation.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs spoke on the phone with Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed, the United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen. Abdollahian slammed the international community for not paying enough attention to the political massacre in Yemen.

He said civilians in Yemen, particularly children and women, were being slaughtered. Such killings, he said, were against international human rights policies. He added that the perpetrators should take responsibility for their actions.

Abdollahian emphasized that the United Nations had a constructive role to play in Yemen to find a political solution to the crisis. Ahmed said that all political parties in Yemen should come to an agreement. Press TV reported that the UN envoy called for a ceasefire in the country.