Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told state media Wednesday that Iran will "follow up the baseless accusations" made by the United States, which accused rebels in Yemen of using weapons provided by Iran to attack Saudi Arabia.
The state-run Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Zarif saying the U.S. moves are provocative and that the United States is trying to "hide their support for the bombardment of the innocent Yemenis through such accusations."
Iran supports Houthi rebels who seized control of Yemen's capital in late 2014, but denies that it has supplied them with arms. The United States supports a coalition led by Saudi Arabia that has been battling the Houthis for nearly three years in support of Yemen's internationally recognized President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi.
Security Council on Iran deal
In New York Tuesday, the U.N. Security Council heard its semi-annual briefing on the implementation of the resolution endorsing the 2015 deal to prevent Iran building a nuclear bomb. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley used the session to raise the issue of alleged Iranian arms transfers to Yemen — which if verified, would violate both an international arms embargo against the Houthis and one against Iran.
"Iran’s destabilizing behavior is only growing; it will continue to grow unless we raise the cost of defying the international community," Haley told council members.
The U.S. envoy said there are several options the council could pursue to pressure Iran. They include strengthening provisions in the resolution endorsing the nuclear deal; adopting a new resolution making clear that Iran is prohibited from all ballistic missile activities; and the possibility of sanctioning Iran for violating the Yemen arms embargo.
Missiles targeting Saudi Arabia
Last week at a military base in Washington, D.C., Haley showed reporters what she said was debris from a short-range missile of Iranian origin recently fired by the Houthis into Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis fired another missile Tuesday at Saudi Arabia's capital, saying it was aimed at Riyadh's Yamama palace.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted the missiles and the country's state media reported no casualties.
Middle East Institute scholar Zubair Iqbal told VOA that because the technology used in missiles developed by Iran and North Korea is so similar it is hard to tell who provided the arms to the Houthis.
"The more important issue is, what does it matter as to where it has come from, from Iran or it has come from elsewhere? They have a stockpile and they’re going to use that stockpile," Iqbal told VOA.
Yemen's conflict has taken a harsh toll on the country's civilians.
The United Nations said Tuesday it has verified airstrikes killed 136 civilians and non-combatants in the first half of December, and that it has documented a total of 5,558 civilians killed and 9,000 injured since the conflict began.
Victor Beattie in Washington D.C contributed to this report.
Read More Iran Protests US Accusations About Weapons in Yemen : http://ift.tt/2B7PuhE
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