The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of obstructing prisoner exchange agreements with the Yemeni government, while Iran has repudiated statements by one of its officials that it has provided military aid to the Houthis, while battles continue in Marib, with the Houthis launching drones on southern Saudi Arabia.
Abdul Qadir Al-Murtada, the official in the prisoners 'file in the Houthi group, said in televised statements that the stagnation in the prisoners' file is due to the refusal of what he called "the forces of aggression" to enter into a comprehensive exchange of prisoners.
He added that Riyadh has banned all exchanges that take place through local mediators, and that it is putting obstacles in the way of implementing the agreements that were sponsored by the United Nations, as he put it.
He pointed out that the United Nations was also unable to develop solutions and proposals that bring the views of the parties closer together.
For his part, Head of the Prisoners Negotiations Committee in the Yemeni government, Hadi Haig, said that the principle of exchanging all for all is the key to overcoming what he called selection problems in the issue of the prisoners' file.
He added - in his tweet - that there is a need for a clear mechanism from the office of the UN envoy Martin Griffiths, and that the Yemeni government is ready to implement this step during the current month of Ramadan.
Iran's position
On another issue, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that the statements of Rustum Qasimi, the economic assistant to the commander of the Iranian Quds Force - in which he stated that Iran provides military aid to Yemen and has military advisers there - contradict reality and Iran's policy towards the Yemeni crisis.
A ministry statement affirmed that the official references express the country's positions and policies towards important issues, adding that Iranian support for Yemen is political support, and that Tehran supports a political solution to the Yemeni crisis and supports the efforts of the United Nations in this field.
Fighters from the Yemeni army and the resistance on the battlefronts in Marib (Al-Jazeera)
Battles and operations
On the field level, Houthi media reported that the coalition launched 16 raids on sites in the Sarwah district, west of the Ma'rib governorate, coinciding with the Yemeni army's announcement of battles against the Houthis on the Al-Mashjah Sarwah front, and that it had made field gains and caused deaths and injuries from the group's fighters.
Saudi media reported at dawn today, Friday, that the coalition intercepted 3 explosive drones launched by the Houthis towards the south of the Kingdom, and the group also announced the targeting of an "important" military site at the Saudi King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait with a drone.
The group had also previously announced the implementation of an attack operation with 3 drones, two on the King Khalid base, and the other on an Aramco oil company facility in Jizan.