Iran: Failed UNSC Resolution Attempt Meant to Hide US, UK Complicity in Yemen War

Rasa - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined that the recent failure by the US and the UK to issue a UN resolution against Tehran was nothing but an attempt to cover up their role in Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.

News ID: 436645

Date: 01 March 2018 - 00:45

RNA - "Desperate attempt by the US and the UK at United Nations Security Council" to cover up complicity of Saudi and Emirati war crimes in Yemen over past three years has failed, Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

The Iranian foreign minister said that the anti-Iran resolution was merely aimed at covering up the role of Washington and London in the war crimes commited by Suaid Arabia in Yemen.

He reiterated that since the very start, Iran called for ceasefire, aid, dialogue and inclusive government.

Zarif renewed Tehran's call for ceasefire, aid, and an inclusive government in Yemen, while stressing that dialogue was the only solution to the crisis in that country.

The Iranian foreign minister made the comment a day after Russia vetoed a resolution at the Security Council, presented by Britain and strongly backed by the United States, which called for "additional measures" against Iran over accusations that it violated the 2015 arms embargo on the war-torn Arabian Peninsula state.

In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said that the US and Britain are responsible for Saudi Arabia's continued warmongering and military aggression against Yemen.

Also on Tuesday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Abbas Araqchi said that Russia's vote against the UN draft resolution represented another setback for the US.

The draft resolution gained 11 favorable votes at the 15-member Security Council, but was blocked by Russia's veto. China and Kazakhstan abstained, while Bolivia also voted against the measure.

A group of so-called independent United Nations experts monitoring the sanctions on Yemen reported to the Security Council in January that it had “identified missile remnants, related military equipment and military unmanned aerial vehicles that are of Iranian origin and were brought into Yemen after the imposition of the targeted arms embargo.”

According to Fars News Agancy, the Security Council instead adopted unanimously a Russian-written resolution that called for a one-year extension of sanctions against Yemen and a renewal of the work of the panel of experts.

At least 15,700 people have been killed since the onset of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen in 2015. Much of the country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war.

The Saudi-led war has also triggered a deadly cholera epidemic across Yemen.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest tally, the cholera outbreak has killed 2,167 people since the end of April 2017 and is suspected to have infected 841,906.

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