Iran says welcomes end to killing of civilians in Yemen

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's foreign ministry welcomed a halt to air strikes in Yemen, an Iranian news agency reported, in an apparent reference to an announcement by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday of an end to a military operation against Iranian-allied Houthi forces there. "Before this, we said the crisis in Yemen had no military solution, and ... a halt to killing innocent and defenseless people is absolutely a step forward," ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham was quoted as saying by the semi-official ISNA news agency. (Reporting by Sam Wilkin; Writing by William Maclean; Editing by David Clarke)