Yemen ambassador to UN to brief Guterres on Iran’s violations

Yemen’s permanent representative to the United Nations Khaled Al-Yamani said in an interview with Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that he plans to brief the new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Iran’s violations in Yemen.

“We will brief Guterres on Iran’s violations very soon, especially that international security and safety is among his major concerns,” Al-Yamani told the newspaper.

“We will hinge on the decisions reached by Yemen’s Sanctions Committee, pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 2140, which put [ousted Yemeni President] Ali Abdullah Saleh and Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi on the list of those wanted for obstructing settlement acts in Yemen,” he added.

The ambassador then proceeded to voice his concerns about the seized Iranian vessels that contained weapons for the Houthi rebels via the Gulf of Aden. “We did not attack Iran nor did we send arms to Iranian cities. No Arab country in general and Gulf country in particular worked on inciting any of the Iranian factions against the Iranian regime. Therefore, we do not accept any interference by Iran in the internal affairs of regional countries,” he said.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.