US Secretary of State John Kerry met Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and senior ministers Thursday to discuss regional developments including a five-day cease-fire to facilitate humanitarian aid in Yemen.

However, the timing and nature of the cease-fire will be discussed further on Friday in Paris, where Kerry will join GCC foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Yemen, and the status of nuclear talks with Iran.

The meeting was also attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and defense minister, Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information, and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir.

Kerry said Iran is a destabilizing force that must not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

Kerry assured Hadi of US support to peace endeavors in the strife-torn country. The meeting was also attended by Yemeni Vice President and Premier Khalid bin Mahfouz Bahah and Foreign Minister Riyad Yassine.

Addressing a joint press conference with Kerry, Al-Jubeir told reporters that the meeting discussed the negative Iranian interventions in the region, which include Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

“We also held bilateral talks … to discuss a number of topics of common interest and during the talk Kerry briefed us on the 5+1 talks with Iran regarding Iran’s nuclear program, which we will discuss in Paris on Fridaywith our colleagues (the GCC foreign ministers), “ he said.“We also discussed the Camp David summit to be held in Washington on May 13 and 14,” Al-Jubeir added.

“I briefed Kerry on Saudi Arabia›s thinking that there would be a cease-fire for a period of five days in Yemen in order to coordinate with international organizations for delivery of relief aid to the brothers in Yemen, if the Houthis and their allies commit to this and do not carry out acts of aggression during this period,” he explained.

Commenting on humanitarian aid and ceasefire, Kerry underscored that it is now completely up to the Houthis as it requires a complete quieting of arms. “No bombing, no shooting, no repositioning of troops to achieve military advantage,” he said.

“We strongly urge the Houthis and those who back them to use all influence not to miss this major opportunity,” Kerry added.

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Yemeni rebels of committing “possible war crimes” and urged all parties in the conflict to protect civilians.

The New York-based watchdog said rebel forces shot and killed two women in the main southern city of Aden last month and also unlawfully detained 10 local aid workers for up to two weeks.

“The incidents, possible war crimes, exemplify the grave threats to civilians in the embattled southern seaport,” said HRW. Arab News