Iran aid ship mission for Yemen coordinated with UN: Official

Iran says the mission of an Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen has been coordinated with the United Nations (UN).

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Thursday that Iran has coordinated with the UN to prepare the ground for the ship to dock at a port in Yemen.

The official stressed that the Iranian aid ship will arrive in Yemen. Amir-Abdollahian added that Iran plans to send planes carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen through Oman and Djibouti.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister also said that the Islamic Republic supports the mission of the new UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Referring to the continued Saudi attacks against Yemen despite a “ceasefire” declared by Riyadh, Amir-Abdollahian said Saudi Arabia repeated its past mistakes by violating the truce.

Earlier Thursday, Ali Asghar Ahmadi, the secretary general of Iran’s Red Crescent Society, said the mission of the Iranian ship has been coordinated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and that the Islamic Republic is only seeking to provide aid and “would not yield to the illusions” of the invaders of the Arab country.

Ahmadi added that in addition to the food supplies, Iranian medical teams are also on board the aid ship to help the injured Yemenis.

On Monday, the Iranian ship, dubbed Nejat (Rescue) and carrying 2,500 tons of much-needed humanitarian supplies, left the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for war-torn Yemen. The ship is heading towards the Yemeni port city of Hudaidah.

Ahmadi went on to say that sending humanitarian aid to the war-affected Yemenis is in line with international law.

The Iranian official said that the Islamic Republic had tried to send humanitarian aid to Yemeni people “several times following the Saudi attack on Yemen, but unfortunately they faced Saudi Arabia’s prevention.”

Iran recently warned that it would not allow any country engaged in the aggression against Yemen to inspect the Iranian cargo ship.

The Al Saud regime has imposed a blockade on the delivery of relief supplies to the war-stricken people of Yemen in defiance of calls by international aid groups.

On Wednesday, Iran also lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) over Saudi Arabia’s blocking of aid deliveries to Yemen, which is facing Saudi military aggression.

In the letter of complaint, Iran’s envoy to the United Nations Golam Ali Khoshroo said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has tried all means to alleviate the sufferings of the affected Yemeni people. These efforts have been mostly thwarted by the [Saudi-led] coalition forces.”

In April, Saudi fighter jets intercepted an Iranian airplane carrying humanitarian aid and medicine as well as injured Yemenis treated in Iran, and prevented it from entering the Yemeni airspace. The plane was forced to turn back although it had obtained the necessary permission to fly along the Oman-Yemen route.

Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 – without a UN mandate – in a bid to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which currently controls Sana’a and major provinces, and to restore power to Yemen’s fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a stalwart ally of Riyadh.

According to the latest UN figures, the Saudi military campaign has so far claimed the lives of over 1,400 people and injured close to 6,000, roughly half of whom have been civilians.