Houthi militias used Made-in-Iran missile to target Saudi Arabia: US

Manama : Bahrain yesterday strongly condemned the ‘hostile practices’ of the Iranian regime in the region hailing the recently released UN report as a direct proof to the regime’s hidden hand in supplying missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen.  

“The report issued by the United Nations unequivocally clarified the negative interference and hostile practices of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Republic of Yemen,” the statement said. 

The United States on Thursday presented for the first time pieces of what it said were Iranian weapons supplied to the Houthis, describing it as conclusive evidence that Tehran was violating U.N. resolutions. 

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that debris from a missile fired at Riyadh, and another shot down near Mecca in July, points to a common origin, according to AFP news agency.

The arms included charred remnants of what the Pentagon said was an Iranian-made short-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen on Nov. 4 at King Khaled International Airport outside Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh, as well as a drone and an anti-tank weapon recovered in Yemen by the Saudis.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said during a press conference held in Washington, “It was made in Iran then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen.”

Haley said the missiles were Iranian Qiam-class short-range ballistic rockets and pointed to valves that she said proved their origin. The Qiam-1 is based on a modified Scud design.

Responding to the findings, Bahrain said that through this acts Iranian regime is attempting to push the region into prolonged crisis. 

They are supplying “Houthi militias with dangerous rockets” that threatens the lives of the people, security of the sea lanes and peace in the region. 

The international community, Bahrain said, should come forward to hold Iran accountable for its blatant interferences in the region. 

“Iran supports terrorism, trains terrorists, smuggles weapons and explosives, and establishes terrorist groups in Bahrain - funded and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the Lebanese Hezbollah,” the statement said. 

This, Bahrain points out, completely contradicts the principle of good-neighbourliness and noninterference in the internal affairs affirmed by the Charter of the United Nations and international law. 

The statement also reiterates the Kingdom’s support to the UN’s Envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in finding a political solution by eliminating all forms of external interference in the Republic of Yemen.

In a similar statement, Saudi Arabia welcomed the report and called on the international community to take immediate action to hold Iranian regime acceptable for its aggressive actions.