Tehran, April 9 (IANS): Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday denounced the Saudi-led military operation against Yemen as a "mistake", saying the invasion has "set a bad precedent in the region".

Khamenei, while comparing the Saudi-led aggression to Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza, slammed Riyadh's attacks against the Yemeni people as a "crime and genocide" for which it could be prosecuted in international courts, Press TV reported.

Khamenei said the aggression against Yemen would be to the detriment of Saudi Arabia, adding Riyadh would, by no means, emerge victorious in its aggression.

The Iranian leader strongly denied the allegation that Iran was interfering in Yemen, taking a swipe at the Saudi-led air campaign against the Arab country, which has "made the skies over Yemen unsafe".

He said the "ill-wishers" hatching plots against Yemen have sought to create a power vacuum in the country like what happened in Libya, but "they have failed to achieve this objective".