(Bloomberg) -- Iran urged Saudi Arabia to end airstrikes on Yemen and said the kingdom had contacted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani through a mediating country.

“One of the heads of states carried a message from Saudi Arabia to Mr. Rouhani, but we need to see clear signs from the Saudis, the first of which is stopping attacks on Yemen,” Ali Rabiei, government spokesman, said in a press conference, without naming the country.

A Yemeni official said last week that Saudi Arabia had agreed to a limited cease-fire covering parts of Yemen, the latest indication that parties to the four-year war may be attempting to deescalate hostilities amid fears they could spark a wider war in the Gulf.

To contact the reporter on this story: Arsalan Shahla in Tehran at ashahla@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Mark Williams

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