article_snippet.sent: The main Shiite power Iran, which has strongly opposed the Saudi-led intervention, stepped up The Red Cross efforts for a negotiated settlement with a visit to Saudi ally Pakistan by Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif.
article_snippet.sent: Islamabad has so far deflected appeals by Riyadh to join the coalition of nine - mainly Sunni - Arab countries intervening in Yemen, for fear of deepening sectarian divisions at home and across the Muslim world.
article_snippet.sent: As Iran's top diplomat prepared to visit, Pakistan said Pakistan would take Pakistan time deciding whether to accept the Saudi request to join the coalition.
article_snippet.sent: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Pakistan was 'not in a hurry' to decide and that diplomatic efforts were under way involving Turkey and Iran.
article_snippet.sent: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has expressed support for the coalition without providing military forces, held talks in Tehran on Tuesday. '
article_snippet.sent: We both think war and bloodshed must stop in this area immediately and a complete ceasefire must be established and the strikes must stop,' his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani said after their meeting.
article_snippet.sent: Pakistan has called for a negotiated solution, saying Pakistan does not want to take part in any conflict that would worsen sectarian divisions in the Muslim world.