Airstrikes Hit Only Civilian Targets in Yemen: Iran's Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lamented the crimes committed by aggressors in Yemen, saying that the airstrikes are hitting civilian targets in the Arabian Peninsula country.
"There is no military infrastructure in Yemen, which can be targeted, and the (Saudi) attacks are hitting civilian targets," Zarif said in a meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez and Oil and Mining Minister Asdrubal Chavez in Tehran on Monday.
The Iranian foreign minister also expressed regret that some countries believe conflicts in Yemen are “sectarian”, saying that people with different religious affiliations are targeted in the Arab country by the Saudi-led coalition and that the attacks have nothing to do with their faith.
On March 26, Saudi Arabia and its allies unleashed deadly air raids against Yemen in an attempt to restore power to fugitive Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
The air strikes have killed some 2,600 people, including hundreds of women and children, and injured many more.
Tehran has frequently called for an end to the aggression, stressing that the Yemeni crisis can be settled only through political means.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif pointed to bilateral relations between Iran and Venezuela and underlined the need for promotion of bilateral ties in all areas.
He said Tehran supports policies adopted by Caracas in the framework of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
The Venezuelan foreign minister, for her part, pointed to the strategic ties between the two countries and emphasized the necessity for enhanced cooperation in regional and international affairs.
