Report slams Iran

United Nations experts say Iran violated a UN arms embargo by directly or indirectly providing missiles and drones to Shiite rebels in Yemen, in a report that also criticises the rebels and the Saudiled coalition fighting them for attacks on civilians. The report paints a devastating picture of the Arab world’s poorest nation caught in a conflict that many view as a proxy war between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. ‘‘After nearly three years of conflict, Yemen as a state has all but ceased to exist,’’ the report said. More than 10,000 civilians have been killed in fighting and air strikes, more than 7 million are on the brink of famine, and a cholera outbreak has affected 1 million people. UN experts travelled to Saudi Arabia in November and December and examined remnants of missiles fired by the Houthis. Iran backs the Houthis but denies supplying them with arms.