Iran Urges End to Yemen Siege ahead of Ramadan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for African and Middle Eastern Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian called for an end to the Saudi-led military attacks on Yemen and also to a siege laid to people of that country with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan approaching.
Addressing a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah on Tuesday, Amir Abdollahian strongly criticized the adoption of military approaches toward Yemen.
He also decried the continuation of strikes that destroy Yemen’s infrastructures.
The Iranian diplomat slammed resorting to military ways for settling Yemen’s internal crisis as a mistake, warning that such approach only fuels extremism and terrorism and endangers regional security.
He further voiced Iran’s support for Yemeni-Yemeni talks in the Swiss city of Geneva, where rival Yemeni groups are holding peace talks.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies began to launch deadly air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to Yemen's Health Ministry, the airstrikes have killed more than 2,300 people, including 229 women and 411 children. More than 8,000 others have been also injured in the attacks, including 581 women and 766 children.
Saudi-led aerial strikes have targeted 61 hospitals and 13 ambulances.
The ministry also reports deterioration of health conditions in Yemen, saying some 20,000 people have caught malaria, with some infected children having died due to lack of medication.
