Lebanon’s Hezbollah denies sending weapons to Yemen

BEIRUT, (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah said yesterday his Iran-backed group had not sent any weapons to Yemen and denied that it was behind the firing of a ballistic missile at Riyadh from Yemeni territory held by Tehran- allied Houthi forces.

In a televised address, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also urged followers to listen to recent comments by Israeli officials which he said pointed to ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Hezbollah’s arch foe.

An Israeli cabinet minister said this week that Israel has had covert contacts with Riyadh amid common concerns over Iran, a first disclosure by a senior official from either country of long-rumoured secret dealings.

Nasrallah also heaped criticism on Arab states that accused Hezbollah of terrorism at an emergency Arab League meeting on Sunday. He called the charge “trivial and ridiculous”, asking why Arab states were silent about what he described as the destructive war a Saudi-led coalition has waged in Yemen.

“I confirm to them, no ballistic missiles, no advanced weapons, and no guns ... we did not send weapons to Yemen,” or Bahrain, or Kuwait, or Iraq, he said.

Hezbollah had however sent arms to Palestinian territories, including anti-tank missiles, Nasrallah said. “I take pride in that. And in Syria there are the weapons we are fighting with,” he said.

Regional tensions have risen in recent weeks between Sunni Muslim monarchy Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran, whose rivalry has wrought upheaval in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Bahrain. Arab League foreign ministers held an emergency meeting on Sunday at the request of Saudi Arabia to discuss ways to confront Iran and Hezbollah over their role in the region.