Iran Once Again Asks to Participate in Humanitarian Activities in Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The secretary general of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) expressed deep concern over the ongoing human tragedy caused by the Saudi-led war on Yemen and once again voiced the country’s readiness to send humanitarian assistance to the impoverished country.
Speaking at a meeting with United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships with the Middle East and Central Asia Rashid Khalikov in Tehran, Mahmoud Mohammadi Nasab called for further cooperation and efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.
He further pointed to the activities and capabilities of the IRCS in the areas of relief and rescue and said assisting crisis-hit people during regional and international disasters, including floods in Pakistan, the drought in Somalia, as well as the Iraqi, Syrian, and Yemen crises, is among activities of the IRCS in international arenas.
The Iranian official further emphasized that the IRCS is ready to send medicine and food to Yemen with the help of the United Nations.
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia had rejected a request by the IRCS to participate in humanitarian activities in Yemen.
Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by the coalition for more than three-and-a-half years but Riyadh has reached none of its objectives in Yemen so far.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had left 600,000 civilians dead and injured until then. The war and the accompanying blockade have also caused famine across Yemen.