"We've indicated to the Iranians that they need to be part of the solution, and not part of the problem," Obama said in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday night.
"What we need to do is bring all the parties together and find a political arrangement. It is not solved by having another proxy war in Yemen," he stated.
The US president added "that we can settle down the situation in Yemen."
"There's a reason why we keep some of our ships in the Persian Gulf region and that is to make sure we maintain freedom of navigation," Obama said on Tuesday.