Saudi blockage of Iran aid plane shameful: MP

A senior Iranian lawmaker has denounced as “shameful” a recent move by Saudi warplanes to block a civilian Iranian aircraft carrying medical aid for crisis-hit Yemen, saying what Riyadh did is reminiscent of actions by the Israeli regime.

Yemen is currently in a very critical situation and Saudi Arabia's “cruel blockage” of humanitarian aid has led to a high number of civilian casualties in the impoverished country, said Abbasali Mansouri Arani, who sits on the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's Parliament (Majlis).

“The delivery of humanitarian aid [by Iran] was made with necessary coordination; however, despite earlier coordination, Saudi Arabia carried out this shameful and regrettable measure, a move which is a reminder of the Zionist regime's actions,” the Iranian parliamentarian said.

He said that the Israeli regime, whose creation is based on “aggression, homicide and genocide,” is preventing international relief organizations from providing Palestinians with their basic requirement.

But, he said, this measure by Saudi Arabia as a Muslim country is “regrettable.”

Mansouri Arani further criticized international organizations for their double standards towards the Saudi aggression against Yemen, saying international bodies are under the influence of world powers.

The remarks by the Iranian lawmaker came after an Iranian cargo aircraft carrying medical aid and foodstuff could not land at the international airport in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, on Tuesday and was forced to return due to Saudi warplanes’ violent airstrikes on the runway of the civilian airport.

The plane had received permits from Omani and Yemeni aviation officials to cross into Yemen’s airspace.

That came just days after Saudi fighter jets intercepted an Iranian airplane carrying humanitarian aid and medicine as well as injured Yemenis, who had been treated in Iran, and prevented it from entering the Yemeni airspace. The plane was forced to turn back although it had obtained the necessary permission to fly along the Oman-Yemen route.

Saudi Arabia launched its air campaign against Yemen on March 26 - without a United Nations mandate - in a bid to undermine the Houthi movement's Ansarullah fighters and to restore power to the country’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

On April 21, Riyadh announced the end of the first phase of its unlawful military operation, which has claimed the lives of about 1,000 people, but airstrikes have continued with Saudi bombers targeting different areas across the country.

YH/NN/HMV

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