by FarsNews
[Iran] warned Washington and Riyadh against rocking the boat in the process of Iran's aid deliveries to the Yemeni nation, and said, "The US and Saudi Arabia will be responsible for the consequences of any provocative moves."
TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian defense ministry warned
the US and Saudi Arabia of the dire consequences of any provocative move
against Tehran's humanitarian aid deliveries to Yemen.
The
statement came after the Pentagon called on Iran not to unload
humanitarian supplies in Yemen but rather dock a ship full of relief
items in next door Djibouti, where the United Nations is setting up a
supply hub.
"The US is an accomplice to the war criminals by
supporting genocide in Yemen and the Iranian people's food and drug aid
is a humanitarian move to soothe the oppressed Yemeni people's pains," a
statement by the Iranian defense ministry said on Wednesday.
It described the US demand for changing the
direction of Iran's cargo ship towards Djibouti as "illogical", and
said, "There is no guarantee that the aid will be delivered to the
oppressed Yemeni people and if the international organizations,
specially the UN, really want to help the oppressed Yemeni people, they
should adopt the necessary measures to prevent the Saudi regime's savage
attacks and fully stop them," the statement said.
It warned Washington and Riyadh against rocking
the boat in the process of Iran's aid deliveries to the Yemeni nation,
and said, "The US and Saudi Arabia will be responsible for the
consequences of any provocative moves."
In relevant remarks on Tuesday, Deputy Chief of
Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri
warned that Iran would launch war on any state that dares to attack the
Iranian ship that is on its way to Yemen with a humanitarian aid cargo.
"Attacking the Iranian Red Crescent aid ship will
spark war in the region," General Jazzayeri told the Arabic-language TV
Alalam, adding, "And this fire may not be put out or brought under
control."
"The US and Saudi Arabia should know that Iran's self-restraint has a limited," he cautioned.
An Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aid
supplies, relief workers and peace activists from several countries left
the Southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for Yemen on Monday.
"We are a group of relief workers, physicians and
peace activists from the US, Europe and Germany. We are a part of the
Islamic Republic of Iran's Red Crescent Society. We are trying to bring
medical stuff, flour and water for the Yemeni people," a statement
issued by 7 anti-war activists aboard the ship said on Monday.
"A large number of physicians and a few
journalists from Iran are accompanying us on the ship and we intend to
deliver 2,500 tons of medical supplies to the Hudaydah port on the Red
Sea," it added.
The activists reiterated that everything on the deck has been checked to make sure that there is no weapon on the ship.
The anti-war activists also condemned the Saudi
fighter jets bombing of the Sana'a airport to prevent the delivery of
Iran's humanitarian aids to Yemen, and stressed, "Preventing the
dispatch of humanitarian aid to another country is a flagrant violation
of the international laws."
"Let the hungry Yemeni children live! This illegal siege should end," the statement underlined.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) has been
trying to dispatch humanitarian aid to Yemen through sea and air, but
has failed due to Saudi Arabia's full blockade of the war-ravaged
country.
Late in April, Saudi jet fighters shooed away
three Iranian cargo planes from Yemen's airspace. But in the third case
they bombed the Sana'a airport control tower and runway seven times to
prevent the Iranian defying pilot from landing. The Iranian civilian
plane was carrying humanitarian aids, including medical equipment, for
the Yemeni people who have been under the Saudi-led airstrikes for over a
month now. The cargo plane was due to take humanitarian aid to Yemen
and take several civilians, who were critically wounded in the recent
Saudi bombings, back to Tehran to receive specialized medical treatment.
Iran had earlier sent five consignments of
humanitarian aid to Yemen, including a total of 69 tons of relief,
medical, treatment, and consumer items
Last month, Head of the Yemeni Red Crescent
Society Mohammad Ahmad al-Kebab in a letter to his Iranian counterpart
Seyed Amir Mohsen Ziayee thanked Iran for the recent humanitarian and
medical aid cargoes sent to his country.
"I appreciate the unsparing help and relief
operations as well as the humanitarian attempts of the Iran Red Crescent
Society (IRCS)," al-Kebab said in his letter.
He expressed the hope that interactions and mutual
cooperation between the two countries' Red Crescent societies would
increase in future.
But late in April, the IRCS blasted Saudi Arabia for blocking Iran's humanitarian aids to Yemen.
"The IRCS humanitarian aid consignments are ready
to be dispatched to Yemen, but unfortunately Saudi Arabia prevents their
delivery to Yemen," Shahabeddin Mohammadi Araqi, IRCS deputy managing
director for international and humanitarian affairs, said.
Mohammadi Araqi described the Yemeni people's
conditions as critical, and said, "We are in contact with Yemen's Red
Crescent Society and Health Ministry and have included their needs in
the new consignment."
He lamented that planes and ships are not allowed
into Yemen's ports and airports, and said, "Unfortunately, the Saudi
government has prevented the dispatch of aids to Yemen."
Saudi Arabia launched its bombing campaign against
Yemen on March 26 in an attempt to restore power to fugitive President
Mansour Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.
Hadi stepped down in January and refused to
reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of
the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh's claims that it is bombing the
positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening
residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
According to FNA tallies, the Monarchy's attacks
have so far claimed the lives of at least 3,755 civilians, mostly women
and children.
FarsNews
Source: http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940223000799
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