Lieutenant General Jeffrey L. Harrigian, who oversees the U.S. Air Forces Central Command in Qatar, said that the ballistic missile fired by Yemeni rebels was from Iran, backing the kingdom’s previous allegations. According to him, the missile that targeted the Saudi capital had Iranian markings so now the authorities were investigating how the weapon was smuggled into Yemen having in mind that Saudi-led coalition is controlling the airspace, the ports and the borders of Yemen, the Associated Press reports.
“There have been Iranian markings on those missiles. To me, that connects the dots to Iran,” Harrigian told journalists at a news conference in Dubai ahead of the Dubai Air Show.
Tehran did not react to these accusations. The missile strike was conducted on Nov. 4. shortly after the strike, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry stated that the investigators found evidence which proved the role of Iran in manufacturing them. According to the Saudi authorities, similar evidence were found after a missile launch on July 22.
The Saudis and the Americans are not the only ones who blame Iran for the strike. French President Emmanuel Macron has the same opinion. This week he said that the missile was obviously Iranian. Also, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, said this week that an Iranian Qiam-1, a liquid-fueled, short-range Scud missile variant, was included in the missile launch in July.
Meanwhile, Harrigian did not want to disclose what type of missile they believe it was used, did not show the images of the debris and did not explain how Iran evaded the blockade by the Saudi-led coalition.
“How they got it there is probably something that will continue to be investigated over time. What has been demonstrated and shown based on the findings of that missile is that it had Iranian markings on it. That in itself provides evidence of where it came from,” he said.
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