For the first time the United States presented pieces of what it said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Houthis in Yemen, including charred remnants of what Pentagon claimed to be an Iranian-made short-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen at an airport outside Riyadh, as well as a drone and an anti-tank weapon recovered in Yemen by the Saudis.
According to the U.S., this is conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating UN resolutions, Reuters reports. Iran says that the displayed arms are fabricated and denies that it supplies the Houthis with weaponry like that.
Even though the U.S. did not say when the weapons were transferred or when they were used, U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley was certain that the transfers could be blamed on Tehran.
“These are Iranian made, these are Iranian sent, and these were Iranian given,” Haley said at a news conference at a military hangar at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were the ones that provided the recovered weapons for the U.S. The presentation is part of President Donald Trump’s new Iran policy, which is announced to result in a harder line toward Tehran.
“You will see us build a coalition to really push back against Iran and what they’re doing,” Haley said.
Pentagon noted that there were Iranian corporate logos on arms fragments and emphasized the unique nature of the designs of Iranian weaponry.
Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates called for international action, but it is not clear whether the new evidence would be convincing for countries like Russia or China to support sanctions against Iran.
The UN resolution that enshrines the Iran nuclear deal with world powers says that Tehran is prohibited from supplying, selling or transferring weapons outside the country unless approved by the UN Security Council, while another resolution on Yemen bans the supply of weapons to Houthi leaders.
Be the first to comment