Tehran, Iran, October 9
By Mehdi Sepahvand –- Trend:
Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen which left hundreds dead or injured on October 9 have drawn strong response from Iran.
Iran’s Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said Saudi rulers are war criminals and should be put on trial, IRIB news agency reported October 9.
“They have committed an unforgiveable crime which should not go unnoticed by the world… Whoever keeps silent against the barbarity will have assisted the House of Saud with the crime.”
More than 150 people were killed and over 500 wounded when airstrikes hit a funeral ceremony in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a on October 8.
In the aftermath of the strike on Saturday, hundreds of body parts were found strewn in and outside the hall. Rescuers collected them in sacks.
Elsewhere, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani denounced Washington’s role in the Saudi airstrike, saying US weapons were used in the attack.
The Yemeni people at the funeral ceremony were bombed with American weapons delivered to the “aggressive Saudi army”, Shamkhani said, stressing that the US is an accomplice in the crime and should be held accountable for it.
“Sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and the (United Arab) Emirates play a key factor in the military aggression against Yemen and the killing of innocent Yemenis, and the West should stop it,” he added, saying the Western public opinion should realize what role their governments are playing in the continuation of the war on Yemen.
Thousands of Yemenis took to the streets of Sana’a October 9 to denounce the airstrike.
Carrying flags and placards, the demonstrators gathered outside the United Nations office in Sana’a on Sunday to express their outrage at the Saudi aggression against their country.
The protest rally was called by Yemen’s Supreme Political Council.
Seeing the severity of the military campaign, the US said its security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a “blank check” as the Obama Administration strongly condemned its key ally's recent air strikes.
"US security cooperation with Saudi Arabia is not a blank check," said Ned Price, Spokesman of the National Security Council, the White House.
"Even as we assist Saudi Arabia regarding the defense of their territorial integrity, we have and will continue to express our serious concerns about the conflict in Yemen and how it has been waged," Price said October 8.
"In light of this and other recent incidents, we have initiated an immediate review of our already significantly reduced support to the Saudi-led Coalition and are prepared to adjust our support so as to better align with US principles, values and interests, including achieving an immediate and durable end to Yemen's tragic conflict," he said.
"We call upon the Saudi-led Coalition, the Yemeni government, the Houthis and the Saleh-aligned forces to commit publicly to an immediate cessation of hostilities and implement this cessation based on the April 10th terms," Price said.