Iranian president's envoy, Masoud Hosseini, arrived on Saturday on a few-day visit to Yemen which comes a week after the Yemeni authorities arrested an Iranian spy ring.
The Yemeni government said it had uncovered the spy cell which has operated inside Yemen under a trade cover for seven years, urging the Islamic republic of Iran to stop meddling in Yemen's own affairs. A revolutionary guard commander was reported to have led the ring.
The ring members were all Yemenis and their operations were centered in the capital Sanaa. Investigations with the spies have started.
The Yemeni official agency Saba reported Hosseini, Iran's deputy energy minister, will hand president Abdrabu Mansour Hadi a letter from his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahemdinejad including an invitation to the Non-Aligned Movement summit. The summit will be held in Iran in August.
Hosseini said his country backs Yemen's stability and unity and is against interference in Yemen's affairs based on their bilateral ties, according to Saba.
Before the popular uprising erupted in early 2011, the Yemeni army fought the Shiite Houthi Group in Saada province in the far north six times on the grounds of taking arms and rebellion against the authorities. The regime accused the group of receiving financial and training support from Iran and Hezbollah, an allegation which was denied by Tehran.
The Group joined the popular uprising and has recently voiced its readiness to participate in a comprehensive national dialogue under a West-backed power-transfer deal.