Saudi airstrikes, continued blockade show Riyadh’s failure, frustration in Yemen: Iran

Iran has condemned a recent aerial attack by Saudi fighter jets on residential areas in the Yemeni province of Hajjah, saying intensified airstrikes by Riyadh indicate the regime’s failure to achieve its goals in the impoverished country.   

“The intensified bombardment of residential areas, continued siege, closure of Yemen’s naval, ground and sea ports, and blocking humanitarian aid and people’s basic needs by Saudi Arabia indicate the country’s frustration and failure to achieve its goals in attacking Yemen,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday.

Arabic-language al-Masirah television network, citing Yemen’s Health Ministry spokesman, reported that at least 60 people, including women and children, had been killed or injured in a series of airstrikes by Saudi Arabia in Hajjah.

Medics said Saudi war planes hindered rescue operations, with at least 10 paramedics killed in the strikes, according to reports.

The Iranian official slammed the international community’s silence over the Saudi regime’s incessant attacks on residential areas and civilian targets and blocking international humanitarian aid to Yemen.

“Such measures are blatant violation of the principles of human rights,” Qassemi said.

He called on the United Nations and key players in the Yemeni conflict to double their efforts to put an immediate halt to Saudi attacks and take measures to protect civilian lives in the war-torn country.

The Tuesday attack was the latest in a series of airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and a coalition of its allies since the war began in March 2015.

In addition to airstrikes, the Saudi-led military coalition has imposed a blockade on Yemen.

International human rights groups and the UN have called on Saudi Arabia to reopen air and sea ports, warning the blockade would sharply exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

A report released Tuesday by the New York-based Human Rights Watch criticized the Saudi-led coalition, saying it had “delayed and diverted fuel takers, closed a critical port and stopped lifesaving goods from reaching the population” during the war.  

The report said a blockade is "unlawful if it has the sole purpose of starving the civilian population or denying the population goods indispensable for its survival.” 

Yemen is also suffering from an outbreak of cholera, while roughly seven million Yemenis are on the brink of famine, aid workers say. 

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has warned that “any further shocks to imports of food and fuel may reverse recent success in mitigating the threat of famine.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross has also urged the reopening of ports for medical supplies.

Read more:

• Yemen air, sea ports should remain open: UN
• Saudis block aid delivery to Yemen: UN
• Yemen cancels all flights under Saudi blockade

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