Yemeni government forces have been fighting Houthi loyalists in the country's north for weeks, vowing to crush them with an "iron fist".

Ali Abdallah Saleh, the president, now speaks exclusively to Al Jazeera, saying the recent lull in fighting was not a truce and blaming Iran for supporting the rebels. He says the military operations were halted only to allow aid agencies into the area where civilians are caught between the two sides.

Tarek Bazley reports on the conflict which some fear could develop into a regional war.