Iran Urges Lifting of Blockade on Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman called for an end to the Saudi-led coalition’s air, land and sea blockade on Yemen and a halt to the military strikes against Yemeni people.
In comments on Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said the new US administration’s stance on the Yemen war can be a "step towards correcting past mistakes" provided that it is not a mere political maneuver.
This per se would not solve the problem in Yemen, he added, stressing the need for the lifting of the country’s air, sea, and land blockade, which has led to the deaths of thousands of Yemenis due to food and medicine shortages.
“Military strikes on Yemen by Saudi-led aggressive countries should also be halted,” Khatibzadeh noted.
He also said the international community and certain countries that are complicit in Riyadh’s crimes against the Yemeni people need to put an end to their logistical and military hardware support for Saudi Arabia and prevent the persistence of the humanitarian catastrophe in the country, Press TV reported.
“Unfortunately, the Saudis made themselves more vulnerable by waging the war in Yemen,” he added, saying Saudi Arabia has
The Iranian diplomat also expressed hope that the “warmongering countries would come to realize their strategic mistake” in attacking Yemen and would “acknowledge their mistake over the past six years and adopt a peaceful solution toward ending the Yemen war and siege.”
“Iran welcomes any effort by the international community to support Yemen and end the backing for the aggressors,” he said.
In a speech during his first visit to the State Department on Thursday, President Joe Biden said the US was ending its support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen, but added that Washington will continue to help Riyadh defend its sovereignty and territory.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies, chief among them the United Arab Emirates, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Riyadh-allied former President Abd Rabbouh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing popular Ansarullah Houthi movement.
The war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in Yemen, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization.
The Saudi-led coalition has also enforced an all-out aerial, naval, and land blockade on the impoverished country.
The war has taken a heavy toll on Yemen's infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.