Zarif slams continuation of ‘cruel’ aggression, blockade on Yemen
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined that the continuation of “cruel” aggression and blockade on Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition “is not acceptable”.
Speaking in a video call with his Yemeni counterpart Hisham Sharaf, Zarif assured Yemen that Tehran would adopt the necessary measures to send humanitarian aid to the Arab country to tackle the coronavirus epidemic in spite of all restrictions, according to IRNA.
“Despite restrictions and obstructive moves, the Islamic Republic of Iran keeps adopting the necessary measures to send humanitarian aid to stem the spread of the coronavirus, and, as before, will try its utmost to advance the Yemen peace process in a bid to see the blockade lifted, a cease-fire put in place and political talks resumed as part of numerous regional and international consultations.”
Zarif said that Iran has always believed that the only way to resolve the Yemeni crisis is through political means, and has had constructive cooperation with relevant Yemeni and international sides to propose a peace plan for Yemen.
Yemen belongs to all Yemenis
“The Islamic Republic of Iran is of the conviction that the only way to establish stability in Yemen is to maintain its territorial integrity, unity among Yemeni groups and holding comprehensive political talks among different groups and parties to establish a united and broadbased government because Yemen belongs to all Yemeni groups,” the top Iranian diplomat added, Tasnim News Agency wrote.
Zarif also dismissed as unacceptable the ongoing aggression and unfair blockade on Yemen by the Saudi-led coalition as well as the seizure of ships carrying food and fuel amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Supported militarily by the US, the UK, and other Western countries, Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015 in order to bring former Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, back to power and crush the Houthi movement.
The invaders have also enforced an allout aerial, naval, and land blockade on the impoverished country.
The Us-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past five years.
More than half of Yemen’s hospitals and clinics have been destroyed or closed during the war by the Saudi-led coalition at a time when Yemenis are in desperate need of medical supplies to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least 80 percent of the 28 millionstrong population is also reliant on aid to survive in what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The United Nations has warned that Yemen could suffer one of the worst coronavirus outbreaks in the world.