Iran strongly condemns ‘arbitrary’ US, British attacks on Yemen

Iran has strongly condemned US and British military attacks on Yemen, calling them an “arbitrary” action and a clear violation of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a violation of international laws and regulations.  

Yemen’s Ansarullah officials said explosions hit the cities of Sana’a, Hudaydah, Sa’ada and Dhamar early Friday, with a US official announcing that American and British attacks against Yemen were carried out by airplanes, ships and submarines.

In Iran’s first reaction to the aggression, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani stressed that the “arbitrary attacks will have no result other than fueling insecurity and instability in the region”.

“These military attacks are carried out in line with the continuation of the full support of the United States and the United Kingdom for the last hundred days of the Zionist regime’s war crimes against the Palestinian nation and the oppressed citizens under the complete siege of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

“While the Zionist regime continues its attacks and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Palestine, the United States and England are trying to detract the attention of the people of the world from the crimes of this fake, criminal and aggressor regime against the people of Palestine by expanding their umbrella of support for the Zionist regime,” he said.

Kan’ani expressed his concern about the consequences of such arbitrary attacks for regional and international peace and security, calling on the international community to prevent the spread of war, instability and insecurity in the region with responsible reactions and actions.

Earlier, President Joe Biden said US and British forces launched airstrikes on Yemen, characterizing them a “defensive action” and pledging that he “will not hesitate” to order further attacks if needed.

The attacks come as Israel’s three months of a ferocious military campaign against the besieged people of Gaza is sputtering in the face of heroic resistance from Palestinian fighters.   

The economic costs of the invasion are also beginning to mount as operations by Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea against Israeli ships and vessels bound for Israeli ports in solidarity with the Palestinian people are having a mark. 

The US-led aggression, however, came on the first of two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague where Israel faced the charge of being involved in genocide in Gaza.  

The ricochet from the case, observers say, will inevitably land at the doors of the West, especially the US and Britain which have supported the invasion with continued shipments of armament and ammunition.