Riyadh Hatches “Unwise” Plots against Iran: Shamkhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani on Tuesday deplored Saudi Arabia for ignoring the positive signals Tehran sent to resolve its problems with Riyadh.
Addressing a conference in Tehran, Shamkhani said Iran already made efforts to resolve the issues of regional competition with the Saudi leaders.
“We controlled the media and sent positive messages (to Saudi Arabia), but unfortunately, they were badly connected with the Zionist regime (of Israel) and the Americans, and hatched unwise plots against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he explained.
Shamkhani further rapped Saudis over military action on Yemen, saying that Riyadh is not allowed to attack other countries given the principles of neighborliness, peaceful coexistence, and the right of self-defense under the UN Charter.
“Saudi Arabia attacked a poor country and destroyed the infrastructures of the weak country,” Shamkhani added, warning that people of Yemen can make Saudi rulers suffer a fate similar to that of Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi dictator.
Saudi Arabia on March 26 launched a military campaign against Yemen with some its Arab allies. The coalition’s justification for the air strikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement was to restore power to fugitive Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
Later on April 21, Saudis declared a halt to the month-long air campaign. But hours later, air strikes and ground fighting resumed in Yemen, where the International Red Cross described the humanitarian situation as "catastrophic."
