CAIRO: Yemen’s internationally recognised government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi cut diplomatic ties with Iran, which it says arms and trains the country’s Shi’ite rebels, a senior Foreign Ministry official said on Friday.

The move comes after the Gulf nation of Bahrain, a member of the Saudi-led coalition of Arab armies fighting the rebels, expelled its Iranian ambassador and recalled its own ambassador over allegations that the Islamic Republic sponsored “subversion” and funneled arms to militants in the island kingdom.

Yemen has been torn by a ferocious war between the Saudi-backed government forces and the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, allied with army units loyal to a former president.

The UN says at least 2,355 civilians have been killed in fighting in Yemen since March, when the Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes.