Ali Abdullah Saleh was released from hospital yesterday. He was there for over 2 months, following the bombing of Sanaa, his official residence. He will not be returning there but will stay in Riyadh. It is intended that this will be a temporary stop for him, as he continues his recuperation.
Saleh has had a long and interesting political history throughout his lifetime. More than a decade ago, he paid a visit to Tehran in an effort to build up relations between his country and Iran as well as supporting the latter in its fight with the UAE on the Greater and Lesser Tunbs. This was just the start of the support that Iran gleaned from Yemen. At the end of 2010, Saleh met with Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to discuss cooperation between the two countries. It was at that meeting that Saleh lent his support to Iran’s nuclear energy program.
So there has always been a true affinity between the two countries. It remains to be seen which direction Saleh will next take vis-à-vis his political career.