Saudi-led coalition says it is investigating accusation that its jets “deliberately” struck Iran’s embassy in Sanaa.
by Al Jazeera
Iran has accused the Saudi-led coaliton of an air strike on its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa amid rising tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that Saudi jets “deliberately” struck its embassy in an air raid that injured staff.
“This deliberate action by Saudi Arabia is a violation of all international conventions that protect diplomatic missions,” foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying by state television.
“The Saudi government is responsible for the damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were injured,” Ansari added, without specifying when the alleged strike took place.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate Iran’s accusation, coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri said, according to a Reuters news agency report.
Asseri said coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night targeting missile launchers used by Houthi fighters against Saudi Arabia.
He added that Houthis had used civilian facilities, including abandoned embassies.
Asseri said the coalition had requested all countries to supply it with coordinates of the location of their diplomatic missions and that accusations made on the basis of information provided by the Houthis “have no credibility”.
Tensions between the two regional heavyweights, which support opposite sides in the war in Yemen, have risen in recent days.
On Sunday, Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran after an attack on its embassy in Tehran following the kingdom’s execution of Shia religious leader Nimr al-Nimr, who was put to death along with 46 other mostly Sunni convicts on terrorism charges.
