UK Urged to End Support for Saudi War on Yemen

TEHRAN  – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi dismissed stances by London and Riyadh officials against Iran as irresponsible, urging Britain to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop war and bloodshed in Yemen.

It is funny “that British officials take such stances and (make) such comments against Iran in a meeting with officials of a country like Saudi Arabia that has launched an aggression against Yemen and caused a human catastrophe and (committed) war crimes in this country and, for years, has been the main source, sponsor and supporter of extremism, terrorism and war mongering in the Middle East and the world,” Qassemi said in a statement on Thursday.

 He described the political and arms support provided to Riyadh by London and others, including Washington, as a threat to security, peace and stability in the entire region.

It is expected that all countries, including Britain, put pressure on Saudi Arabia to stop the war and bloodshed in Yemen and end exporting extremist ideologies, he said, calling on all countries not to trade international peace and security with their temporary economic interests. 

Qassemi’s comments came after the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May said she and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in their meeting in London on Wednesday called for countering Iran.

“On Iran, UK PM May and Saudi crown prince agreed on importance of working together to counter Iran’s destabilizing regional activity,” it said.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the war on Yemen in March 2015 to reinstall its former Riyadh-allied government. The military aggression has so far killed nearly 14,000 Yemenis.

The war is being led by bin Salman, also Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, with the help of the US and the UK.

May’s government has remained defiant in the face of growing pressure to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia, defending the sales amid evidence of war crimes and civilian deaths in Yemen.

The UK has increased its weapons sales by around 500 percent since the onset of the Saudi invasion, according to a report by The Independent.

The UK has, so far, sold more than six billion pounds of arms to Saudi Arabia.

H.M