Iran summons Swiss envoy over ‘irresponsible’ claim

Saudi-led air strikes kill 136 civilians in Yemen

ANKARA: Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador yesterday to condemn what it called an “irresponsible” claim by the US Ambassador to the UN that Tehran supplied a missile fired at Saudi Arabia from Yemen on Nov 4, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported. The Swiss embassy represents US interests in Tehran, where Washington has had no mission since 1980, when Iranian students took 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. “Iran’s strong protest at (Nikki) Haley’s baseless and provocative claim was conveyed to the Swiss ambassador,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Tasnim.

Haley on Thursday presented pieces of what she said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in Yemen, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating UN resolutions. Iran has denied the claim. Under a UN resolution that enshrines a nuclear deal reached between Iran and world powers in 2015, Tehran is prohibited from supplying, selling or transferring weapons outside the country unless approved by the UN Security Council. Washington acknowledged it could not say precisely when the weapons were transferred to the Houthis, and, in some cases, could not say when they were used.

Saudi-led air strikes Meanwhile, the UN human rights spokesman said yesterday that air strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen have killed at least 136 civilians and non-combatants since Dec 6. Other UN officials said the coalition was maintaining tight restrictions on ships reaching Yemen even though 8 million Yemenis are on the brink of famine with the country relying on imports for the bulk of its food, fuel and medicine. “We are deeply concerned at the recent surge in civilian casualties in Yemen as a result of intensified air strikes by the ... coalition, following the killing of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa on Dec 4,” human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.

Incidents verified by the UN human rights office included seven air strikes on a prison in the Shaub district of Sanaa on Dec 13 that killed at least 45 detainees thought to be loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who is backed by Saudi Arabia. “One can assume that was a mistake, they weren’t intending to kill prisoners from their own side,” Colville said. “It’s an illustration of lack of due precaution.” Other air strikes killed 14 children and six adults in a farmhouse in Hodeidah governorate on Dec 15, as well as a woman and nine children returning from a wedding party in Marib governorate on Dec 16, he said.

Air strikes verified by the UN rights office in Sanaa, Saada, Hodeidah and Taiz governorates also injured 87 civilians. “If in a specific event due precaution is not taken or civilians are deliberately targeted, that can easily be a war crime,” Colville said. It is up to a court to make a ruling, he said, but there had been so many similar incidents in Yemen, it would be hard to conclude war crimes had not taken place.

Yesterday Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the capital Riyadh but there were no reports of casualties, the coalition said, the latest in a series of attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen. The restrictions on access to Yemen imposed by the coalition became a total blockade on Nov 6 though conditions were eased on Nov 25 to allow aid ships and some commercial cargoes to reach the shattered Arabian Peninsula country. The UN World Food Program has brought in enough food for 1.8 million people for two months, but far more is needed.—Agencies