Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has described Saudi Arabia’s ongoing military aggression in Yemen as a big mistake, saying the venture will certainly backfire on the kingdom.
“The Saudis committed a big mistake in Yemen and the impacts of the crimes they have committed will certainly backfire on them,” Ayatollah Khamenei said Wednesday in a meeting with the visiting Iraqi President Fuad Masum.
Ayatollah Khamenei further called the logic used by Saudi Arabia to attack Yemen as “silly,” saying “They (the Saudis) attacked Yemen based on a request by the fugitive and resigned (former) president of Yemen [Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi] who betrayed his country in the most sensitive conditions.”
Ayatollah Khamenei also stated that the surge in terrorist activities in the Middle East benefits those seeking instability in the region, saying the presence of Takfiri groups in Syria and Iraq serves the interests of Israel.
The Leader also described the current state of relations between Iran and Iraq as “unprecedented” and called for closer relations between the two neighbors.
The Iraqi president, for his part, hailed the Leader’s role in strengthening relations between Tehran and Baghdad.
Masum said the Iraqi government and nation will never forget the assistance provided by the Islamic Republic of Iran to their country in the most unbearable conditions, especially during the offensive by the ISIL terrorist group.
Saudi war on Yemen, childish, says Rezaei
Meanwhile, a former chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has slammed the ongoing military aggression by Saudi Arabia on Yemen as uncalculated, saying Riyadh’s military campaign against Yemen is a war on the basic needs of the people in the impoverished Arab country.
Major General Mohsen Rezaei, who currently serves as the secretary of Iran’s Expediency Council, said in remarks published late Tuesday that a close look at Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen reveals its absurdity.
“We think that the Saudi army or its heads have no clear understanding of what is happening. What we see on the ground is not consistent with any rational war and standard principles,” Rezaei told the Lebanese based al-Mayadin TV.
The former Iranian commander said the Saudis are conducting 110 to 120 sorties in Yemen’s northwestern Sa’ada Province on a daily basis, manically attacking everything, which shows they have no clear target from their airstrikes.
“When you martyr 4,000 people and leave 6,500 others wounded, what sort of purposefulness is that?” Rezaei asked, adding, “The Yemen battle is not a military war, it is a war on food and water, it is a war on families, woman and children, it is a war on fuel.”
“They are using forbidden bombs like napalm and inflammable ones without having a clear objective. Two weeks ago, they bombed Aden with 150 sorties on a daily basis. This is questionable because evidence points to a childish, aimless and futile war,” said Rezaei.
Rezaei, who served as IRGC chief for 16 years since early 1980s, said earlier in May that the war on Yemen is part of a bigger plan by Saudi Arabia and the United States to disintegrate the Middle Eastern countries.
“Under this plan, the Saudis are responsible for the disintegration of Syria and Yemen while the responsibility for the disintegration of Iraq rests directly with the Americans,” he said.
PRESS T.V
R.S