Iran denies UAE claim of interference in Yemen

Rasa - Iran has dismissed as baseless claims by the United Arab Emirates that the Islamic Republic is involved in deepening the ongoing conflict in Yemen, stressing that the Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE, is accountable for the worsening situation in war-torn Yemen.

News ID: 427783

Date: 01 March 2017 - 20:15

RNA - “The UAE and other members of the warmongering coalition are directly responsible for the crimes committed in Yemen and the rise of terrorism there and in the entire region," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday, referring to the Saudi-led military coalition waging a war on Yemen for two years.

Qassemi made the remarks in response to recent anti-Iran claims made by Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash.

During the 34th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in the Swiss city of Geneva on February 28, the Emirati minister accused Iran of arming Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah fighters and alleged that Iran’s measures have prolonged the conflict in the conflict-hit Arab country.

Expressing "surprise and sorrow" at the Emirati minister's claims, the Iranian official added that the UAE "has been directly involved in destroying Yemen’s infrastructure and committing war crimes" against the Yemeni people.

Qassemi said that those waging war against Yemen have brought about nothing but the rise of terrorism in parts of the country.

Yemen has been under the Saudi military aggression for two years. A number of Saudi allies, including the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, have been partners to Riyadh’s military campaign against Yemen.

The Saudi aggression, which allegedly seeks to reinstall Yemen's former government and undermine the Ansarullah movement, has killed over 12,000 Yemenis, a human rights NGO says.

In response to the military campaign, Yemeni forces have launched retaliatory against Saudi forces, their allies and Riyadh-backed mercenaries.

Last month, the media bureau of the operations command in Yemen announced that a host of Saudi mercenaries had been killed and sustained injuries when Yemeni troopers launched a medium-range ballistic missile at their gathering close to the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, Yemen's al-Masirah television network reported.

According to the report, Nasser Moshabib al-Atibi, the commander of the Emirati troops in Yemen, was among those killed.

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