Iran's foreign ministry summoned the United Arab Emirates charge d'affaires in Tehran after nine Iranian teachers were detained over work permit problems in the Gulf nation, state media said.

A UAE official has reportedly said work permits for the teachers were valid only for Dubai and were invalid in Abu Dhabi.

Emiratis went to polls on Saturday to fill the elected seats on a government advisory body but despite a broadening of the franchise some citizens were still denied the vote.

The electoral roll is drawn up by the rulers of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates who also appoint the remaining members of the Federal National Council.

The U.N. chief's Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Philippe Lazzarini, has lamented that the response of the international community to the needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other countries is weak.

In an interview with An Nahar daily published on Wednesday, Lazzarini said: “The response does not meet the needs.”

Prime Minister Tammam Salam traveled on Sunday to the United Arab Emirates where he paid condolences to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and Ruler of Dubai over the death of his eldest son.

Education Minister Elias Bou Saab accompanied Salam in his visit, the National News Agency said.

Air raids by Saudi-led coalition warplanes killed 15 people in Yemen's capital in one of the heaviest nights of bombardment in months, aid workers and witnesses said Saturday.

One rescuer told AFP at least 10 civilians were among the dead.

A Saudi-led coalition is making slow but steady progress five days into a major offensive towards the rebel-held capital of Yemen, a coalition source said Friday.

Giving a rare update on the fighting in Marib province, east of Sanaa, the source told AFP "things are going slowly but surely."

Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen claim to have captured several troops from Saudi Arabia, which is leading a coalition against the insurgents, parading one of the soldiers on television.

The Iran-backed rebels' Al-Masirah television late on Wednesday showed footage of a man dressed in military fatigues who identified himself as Sergeant Ibrahim Hakmi of a Saudi brigade based in the Jazan border area.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it has spent "around $1.1 billion" helping Syrian refugees and on the fight against the Islamic State group.

The announcement follows criticism of rich Arab states for failing to take in Syrian refugees, as hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict risk their lives to reach Europe.

Saudi-led coalition warplanes heavily bombarded rebel positions across the Yemeni capital Saturday, ahead of expected U.N.-mediated peace talks, witnesses said.

They targeted arms depots and military camps in the rebel-held capital's northern districts.

Iran-backed rebels fired Katyusha rockets at a busy market in Yemen's eastern city of Marib killing at least 20 people on Friday, medics and witnesses said.

"Twenty civilians were killed and dozens wounded" in the attack, a medical official said. Witnesses said the provincial capital's market was targeted.