Iran Strongly Condemns 'Arbitrary' US, British Attacks on Yemen
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iran has vehemently condemned the military actions undertaken by the United States and Britain in Yemen, labeling them as "arbitrary" and a blatant violation of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“The attacks are a breach of international laws and regulations,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in Iran's initial response to the aggression, emphasizing that such "arbitrary attacks" would only serve to escalate insecurity and instability in the region.
He voiced concern over the motivations behind these military actions, saying that these military attacks are carried out “in line with the continuation of the full support of the United States and the United Kingdom for the last hundred days of the Zionist regime's war crimes against the Palestinian nation and the oppressed citizens under the complete siege of the Gaza Strip”.
Yemeni officials reported the attacks saying that explosions rocked the cities of Sanaa, Hudaydah, Saada, and Dhamar early Friday, with a US official confirming that the assaults were executed through airplanes, ships, and submarines.
“While the Zionist regime continues its attacks and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Palestine, the United States and England are trying to detract the attention of the people of the world from the crimes of this fake, criminal, and aggressor regime against the people of Palestine by expanding their umbrella of support for the Zionist regime,” Kanaani said.
Expressing apprehension about the repercussions of these attacks on regional and international peace, Kanaani called upon the international community to respond responsibly and take actions to prevent the escalation of war, instability, and insecurity in the region.
The US and the UK officials characterized the airstrikes as a "defensive action" and asserted readiness to escalate the attacks if necessary. The military actions coincide with three months of a ferocious military campaign against Gaza, facing resistance from Palestinian fighters, and escalating economic costs due to Yemeni armed forces' operations in the Red Sea against Israeli ships.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian emphasized Yemen's significance in the West Asian region, with Yemeni leaders underscoring the security of navigation. Amirabdollahian warned against the strategic mistake of the US entering a direct war against civilians in Gaza and reiterated the need for an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, humanitarian aid, and the initiation of a political process, as conveyed in a conversation with Norwegian counterpart Espen Barth Eide.
The US-led aggression, however, came on the first of two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague where Israel faced the charge of being involved in genocide in Gaza.
The ricochet from the case, observers say, will inevitably land at the doors of the West, especially the US and Britain which have supported the invasion with continued shipments of armament and ammunition.