Baku, Azerbaijan, May 13
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran will not permit the countries involved in the Yemen civil war to inspect its cargo ship carrying humanitarian aids to Yemen, the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Marzieh Afkham said May 13.
This is while it was already announced that Tehran is ready for full inspection of the ship in any port of any country.
"If someone has doubts about Iran 's humanitarian aid to Yemen, Iran welcomes their inspection, an official with the Islamic Republic's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) based on the ship said May 12.
Meanwhile Afkham emphasized that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition members cannot inspect the ship.
The Iranian official also criticized the blockade on Yemen, saying the blockade has forced the country into a humanitarian catastrophe, Iran 's Tasnim news agency reported.
The Iranian cargo ship carrying 2,500 metric tons of humanitarian aid including food and medicine left Iran 's southern Bandar Abbas port on May 11 to the Yemeni port of Hodeida.
The ship also carries rescue workers from the Iran 's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) as well as some 20 journalists.
The Iranian Navy's 34th fleet, which is present in the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Bab el-Mandab, has been commissioned to protect the Islamic Republic's ship.
Earlier Saudi Arabia 's military spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri said that Saudi forces have the right to inspect the Iranian aid ship before it reaches a Yemeni port.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri has threatened that attacking the Iranian aid ship will "ignite the flames of war" in the region.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has imposed an air and naval blockade on Yemen as part of its campaign to oust the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels, who have taken most of the country and forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
Saudi fighter jets have prevented Iranian planes from entering Yemeni airspace in recent weeks.
Iran says that the planes were carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen, meanwhile Saudi Arabia accuse the country of providing military support to the Yemeni Shiite rebels.
Edited by CN
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