Iran‘s Foreign Ministry said airstrikes in Yemen are a “dangerous step” Thursday, after Saudi Arabia launched the strikes against Shiite rebel positions in the crisis-hit country.
The Saudi offensive begun Wednesday and supported by nine regional allies came as the country pledged to protect its neighbor from Iran-backed Shiite rebels.
In a statement, Iran‘s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said the country “condemns the airstrikes against Yemen this morning that left some innocent Yemenis wounded and dead and considers this action a dangerous step” the Associated Press reported. “This invasion will bear no result but expansion of terrorism and extremism throughout the whole region.”
The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network reported that Saudi Arabia has deployed 150,000 troops and 100 fighter jets.
Al-Masirah TV, affiliated with the rebels, quoted the Ministry of Health as saying that 18 civilians were killed and 24 were injured, the AP reported.
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, Yemen’s internationally recognized leader, fled by boat Wednesday as Shiite rebels known as Houthis advanced to take the southern port city of Aden, where he took refuge last month after escaping house arrest in the capital Sanaa.
In a statement Wednesday, National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said: “While U.S. forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a joint planning cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate U.S. military and intelligence support.”
(Source: USA Today)
