Some 53 people have died in the past 24 hours in the port city. Iran’s foreign minister travelled to Pakistan where parliament is discussing possibly supporting the Saudi-led coalition. “We both think war and bloodshed must stop,” said a joint statement by the presidents of Iran and Turkey during a state visit to Tehran by Turkey’s Erdogan.

Beirut (AsiaNews) – As Yemen plunges further into civil war, especially in the port city of Aden where casualties are mounting, all sides are intensifying the diplomatic tug-of-war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to Islamabad today to stop Pakistan from joining the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis.

Gulf States are planning to submit a resolution to the United Nations Security Council that would impose an arms embargo and call on Shia Houthi rebels to withdraw from Sanaa and all the areas they occupied since 2013.

Meanwhile, things on the ground are getting worse. In Aden, the situation was "catastrophic to say the least," said Marie-Claire Feghali, a spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. "The war in Aden is on every street, in every corner”.

Medical sources report that 53 people were killed in the last 24 hours. Nationwide, more than 540 people have been killed since 19 March.

The UN's children agency UNICEF confirmed the death of at least 74 children since the Saudi-led nine-nation coalition began air strikes.

The US says it is speeding up weapons deliveries to a Saudi-led coalition. It is also boosting intelligence sharing with the coalition, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was "dismayed, to put it mildly" by the military campaign being waged by the Saudi-led nine-country coalition.

Accused of trying to take advantage of the civil war to expand its sphere of influence, pro-Houthis Iran is trying to ease pressure on its ally.

A "complete ceasefire must be established and the strikes must stop" in Yemen, said Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was on a visit to Tehran.

Although backing but not involved in the Saudi-led coalition, Erdogan made no remarks about Yemen, but he talked at length about bilateral relations with Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is expected to urge Pakistan to reject a request to join a Saudi-led campaign against Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen during talks in Pakistan.

For his part, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he will defend Saudi Arabia's "territorial integrity," but has not spelled out what, if any, commitments he has made.

On Tuesday, Sharif told lawmakers Iran should be part of the debate and urged parliament to take its time in coming to a decision.

Pakistan's parliament began debating the request on Monday and no legislator has spoken in support of sending troops for Saudi use in Yemen.

• yemen
• civil
• war
• saudi
• arabia
• iran
• turkey
• pakistan
• united
• states