US in No Position to Lecture Yemenis, Iranians on Bilateral Ties: Ministry Spokesman

Thursday, 22 October 2020 7:19 PM

Press TV

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman reacts to interventionist remarks by a US official commenting on Iran’s relations with Yemen, saying Washington had better end its now-years-long atrocities against the impoverished nation than advise it on its ties with the outside world.

“The US has underwritten 5yrs of Saudi-led slaughter in Yemen,” Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted on Thursday.

US is thus in NO position to lecture Yemenis & Iranians abt their bilat ties.

He was referring to the United States’ unreserved military, logistical, and political support for the 2015 war that Saudi Arabia and its allies have waged against Yemen to restore the country’s Riyadh-allied officials.

The war has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and forced the Arab world’s already poorest country close to the edge of outright famine. The overall situation has, according to the United Nations, turned Yemen into the scene of the world’s “worst” humanitarian crisis.

“Its (the US’) abuse of diplo (diplomatic) cover is also notorious: just ask ex-spymaster @SecPompeo (US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo),” Khatibzadeh added, referring to Washington’s political patronage for the conflagration that has been facilitated by former CIA chief and current top diplomat Pompeo among other senior American officials.

“US is thus in NO position to lecture Yemenis & Iranians abt (about) their bilat (bilateral) ties,” the Iranian official added, declaring, “Better to end your crimes & malign presence in our region.”

Khatibzadeh’s comments came a day after US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus issued a raft of meddlesome remarks on Iran-Yemen bilateral relations.

She had addressed Iran’s recent appointment of Hassan Irloo as its new ambassador to Yemen, claiming that the Islamic Republic had “smuggled” the official into the Yemeni capital Sana’a. This is while Khatibzadeh himself has verified the appointment and Iran’s reputable news agencies have widely reported on the development.

Ortagus also alleged that Irloo was representing Iran to Yemen’s Houthi “militias.” The Yemeni popular defense movement, also known as Ansarullah, took over managing the country’s affairs after Yemen’s former Saudi-backed government fled to Riyadh amid a power crisis and refused to stay behind and negotiate power with the Houthis.

The Houthis have also been defending their country against the Saudi-led and US-backed war by allying themselves with the Yemeni Army and popular committees, something that has won the praise of the nation and rallied it around the cause of resistance.