Iran Slams Saudi ‘Ridiculous’ Accusation of Yemeni Missile Fired at Mecca
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry dismissed as “ridiculous” the allegations raised by Saudi and Emirati officials that Yemeni forces have fired a missile at the holy city of Mecca, urging Riyadh not to use holy places as a tool to fulfill its political objectives.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi on Friday rejected the allegations as part of a plot by Saudis to cover up their defeats in the war on Yemeni people.
He also underlined that people of Yemen have more respect for the holy Islamic sites than the Wahhabi kings do.
He then lashed out at the Saudi rulers as “aggressor and child-murderer” monarchs relying on the US and the Zionist regime of Israel.
Saudi Arabia claimed on Friday it has intercepted a ballistic missile heading towards Mecca, accusing Yemeni forces of launching the long-range ballistic missile from 500km over the border.
United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan also criticized Iran after the alleged missile attack.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies, including the U.A.E, have been launching airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.
According to UN estimates, over 10,000 Yemenis, including 4,000 women and children, have lost their lives in the military campaign.
On October 8 alone, Saudi-led warplanes killed over 140 people and injured more than 600 others in an airstrike on a crowded funeral ceremony in Sana’a.
