TEHRAN – Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have committed “great crimes” in Yemen.

The Leader made the remarks in a meeting with Mohammed Abdulsalam, the spokesman for Yemen’s Ansarullah and chief negotiator of the National Salvation Government.

The Leader also said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are seeking to break up Yemen and this should be strongly resisted.

“They are after dividing up Yemen but there must be a strong resistance against this plot and (it is necessary to) support an integrated, united Yemen with its territorial integrity,” the Leader asserted.

Ayatollah Khamenei added protecting the Yemeni territorial integrity in view of its diverse religious and ethnic diversity entails intra-Yemeni dialogue.

Praising the Yemeni old and rich civilization, Ayatollah Khamenei lauded the Yemeni people’s resistance against military invasions for five years and predicted that they will win the war and succeed to form a strong government.

The Leader also referred to U.S. complicity in the war on Yemen, saying the Islamic Republic’s anti-U.S. and anti-Western position is not out of “prejudice” but because of realities and the record of rulers in the U.S. and the West.

These countries, with a superficial civil and ethical appearance, commit the “worst crimes” and constantly talk about human rights, Ayatollah Khamenei regretted.
 
The United States is the main supplier of advanced weapons to the Saudi-led military alliance against Yemen. The atrocities committed against civilians in Yemen are so awful that even Congress has voted against selling weapons to Saudi Arabia but the bill has been vetoed by President Trump.

Some European countries such as Britain, France and Germany also sell arms to the countries pounding Yemen. The United States even provides logistical support for Saudi Arabia in pounding the country.

 According to the United Nations, Yemen suffers one of the longest humanitarian crises in the world.

Yemen has been under military attack by a Saudi-led alliance since March 2015. Saudi Arabia launched war on the country with the aim of reinstating the toppled government of Mansur Hadi in a matter of weeks. However, more than four years have passed and still there is no victory in sight.

In April 2015, Iran proposed a four-point plan for the resolution of conflict in Yemen.

In a post on his Twitter post on November 2018, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif again reminded about Tehran’s four-point plan, saying: "War on Yemen must be stopped. We urge ceasefire, humanitarian assistance, intra-Yemeni dialogue & establishment of broad-based government."

PA/PA