Saudi jets have 'deliberately' bombed the Iranian embassy in Yemen in an
air raid that wounded staff, Tehran has claimed today. Warplanes struck
the building as they pounded Yemen's capital Sanaa on Wednesday night,
Iran claimed, as tensions with Saudi Arabia continued to mount.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman described the strike as a 'deliberate
action' and a 'violation of all international conventions that protect
diplomatic missions'.
Hossein Jaber Ansari said: 'The Saudi government is responsible for the
damage caused and for the situation of members of staff who were
injured.'
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen will investigate the
accusation, according to the group'sn spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed
Asseri said.
Coalition jets carried out heavy strikes in Sanaa on Wednesday night to
target missile launchers used by the Houthi militia to fire at Saudi
Arabia, he said, adding that the group has 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'.
But witnesses in Sanaa said they could see no damage at the Iranian Embassy and that it was still standing.
A full-blown split between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and
Shiite-dominated Iran erupted at the weekend when Riyadh executed
prominent Shiite cleric and activist Nimr al-Nimr. Nimr's death sparked
demonstrations in many countries including Iran, where protesters
stormed and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran as well as the
kingdom's consulate in second city Mashhad.
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