Iran, S Arabia in war of words as tensions spike
TEHRAN/UNITED NATIONS: Iran on Tuesday dismissed accusations by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince that it had launched a “direct military aggression” after a missile fired by Tehran-backed Yemeni rebels was intercepted near Riyadh.
Iran foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking to his British counterpart Boris Johnson over the phone, said “the allegations by Saudi officials were contrary to reality and dangerous”, a spokesman said.
Houthi rebels in Yemen, the targets of a two-year Saudi- led bombing campaign, fired a missile on Saturday that was intercepted and destroyed near Riyadh international airport.
“The involvement of Iran in supplying missiles to the Houthis is a direct military aggression by the Iranian regime,” the official Saudi Press Agency quoted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as saying. This “could be considered an act of war,” he said.
Riyadh has accused Tehran of supplying the Shia rebel group with arms, but a senior Iranian official on Monday rejected such accusations. “It is very childish to say that Iran has sent missiles to Yemen,” the official said, requesting anonymity.
He said ships in the surrounding waters were on high alert and ready to intercept such deliveries. “The Saudis and their supporters know that this is a faked story,” he said.
US CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST IRAN
The US on Tuesday accused Iran of supplying a missile to Houthi rebels that was fired into Saudi Arabia in July and called for an international response.
US ambassador Nikki Haley said Riyadh had released information showing that the missile was an Iranian Qiam and that this weapon was not present in Yemen before the conflict.
“By providing these types of weapons to the Houthi militias in Yemen, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is violating two UN resolutions simultaneously,” Haley said. “We encourage the UN and international partners to take necessary action to hold the Iranian regime accountable for these violations.”