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Tehran blames continued war on Yemen for instability in country, urges diplomacy to end conflict

Thursday, 31 December 2020 2:21 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 31 December 2020 2:29 PM ]

Dust rises after explosions hit an airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden on December 30, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)

Iran has blamed the persistence of the foreign aggression and occupation in Yemen as the major cause of “instability” and “lawlessness” in the Arab country after an attack hit the main airport in Yemen’s southern city of Aden.

At least 22 people were killed and dozens more injured in an attack on Aden airport on Wednesday after a plane carrying a self-proclaimed government backed by Saudi Arabia landed from Riyadh.

Later in the day, a second attack targeted the Maasheq palace, where members of the self-proclaimed government had been taken to, according to residents and local media.

Yemen’s self-proclaimed information minister Moammar Al-Eryani said via Twitter that all members of the Saudi-backed cabinet were “safe.”

He blamed the incident on the Houthi Ansarullah movement – which denied any role in the attack.

In a statement on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denounced the attack and called on the sides involved in the Yemeni war to return to political talks to end the futile conflict.

“Such violent measures and killing of civilians are a result of the view of the aggressors and occupiers of Yemen, who, in the name of a self-made coalition, destroyed Yemen entirely and caused the continuation of the gravest humanitarian crisis in Yemen with their warmongering and separatist attitude,” Khatibzadeh said.

‘A child dies every 10 minutes’ in war-torn Yemen: Health Ministry

Yemeni officials warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, saying that "a child dies every 10 minutes in Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition, which launched the devastating war on Yemen in 2015, accused the Houthi movement and targeted the capital, Sana’a, on Thursday in what they described as retaliation for the attacks.

Al-Masirah television said coalition planes hit at least 15 locations in different districts in the capital, which is held by the Houthis.

Airstrikes conducted by coalition warplanes on Yemen have killed thousands of Yemeni civilians, including women and children, since the beginning of the war.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the war in March 2015 to undermine the Houthi movement and to reinstate a Riyadh-friendly regime there. According to the UN, over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.

Earlier this month, Yemeni officials said that “a child dies every 10 minutes” in Yemen due to the war, with shortfalls in aid funding exacerbating the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

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