A team of senior diplomatic officials headed by the United States ambassador to Yemen arrived in the southern port city of Aden on Thursday to discuss the recent situation in the war-ravaged Arab country.

The newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Henzel along with his team attended an official meeting with Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and other government officials at the Presidential Palace in Aden.

Abdulmalik welcomed the U.S. diplomatic team and the two sides discussed the security situation as well as economic and living conditions in Aden and other neighboring provinces controlled by the government, Saba news agency reported.

"The only way to help Yemen can be through the international community's continuing support for the legitimate government that works in restoring trust in the state institutions and providing basic services for the citizens," the prime minister said during the meeting.

Abdulmalik referred to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) that previously warned of suspending aid distribution gradually starting from this week following disagreements with Houthi rebels in the capital Sanaa.

In recent days, a war of words has continued to escalate between the Yemeni Houthi rebels and the WFP that lashed out at Houthi rebels in Yemen for misappropriating aid supplies.

Abdulmalik pointed out that Yemen's government doesn't prefer suspension of aids distribution, but urged the international community to exert more pressure on the Houthi rebels to stop diverting food assistance provided by the UN to the hungry people.

"There's a big concern for us regarding the Houthi misuse of the food assistance, which was delivered to millions of people out of the government's control and there was also a brave reaction from the WFP's head about the rebels' stances," Abdulmalik added.

Earlier this week, the Iranian-backed Houthis accused the WFP of "providing Yemenis with rotten and expired food assistance."

However, the WFP strongly denied on Wednesday the Houthi claims, saying that it has a strong mechanism for controlling the food quality.

Following the meeting, a joint press conference was held by at the Presidential Palace in Aden, Yemen's temporary capital, which is receiving repeated visits by diplomatic missions and foreign officials.

Speaking at the press conference, Abdulmalik praised "the U.S. support for Yemen in different fields including security, migration, passports and humanitarian aids."

He said that key points were discussed with Henzel including "the underway efforts to encounter the Iranian spoiling role in Yemen."

"Iran employs the Houthi rebels to serve its agenda in a bid to turn Yemen into a launching pad to target the neighboring countries and international maritime navigation in the Red Sea," Abdulmalik said.

The visiting U.S. ambassador renewed his country's commitment to supporting the Yemeni government to overcome the recent difficult situation and achieve permanent peace.

He said that the U.S. administration will continue to be "committed to working together with Yemen across all sectors to ensure a better future for all Yemenis."

Yemen has been locked in a civil war since the Houthi rebels overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including Sanaa, in 2014.

Saudi Arabia is leading an Arab military coalition that has intervened in Yemen's conflict since 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile.

The prolonged military conflict has aggravated the suffering of Yemenis and deepened the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Enditem

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