Iran suspends dispatching aid ship to Yemen

Iran has decided to halt sending second cargo ship carrying humanitarian aids for Yemen.

The ship dubbed Arezou loaded with 9,000 metric tons of food early in June, meanwhile dispatching the ship has been delayed so far.

Commenting on the issue, Nasser Charkhsaz, head of Iran’s Red Crescent's Relief and Rescue Organization said that Iran has suspended temporarily sending aid ships to Yemeni people.

Djibouti has announced that it can not accept any new aid cargo due to unloading limitations, Charkhsaz said, Iran ’s Fars news agency reported June 24.

On the other hand, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN which are charged of transferring the aid from Djibouti to Yemen have announced that the country is not able to accept and store this volume of the cargo, he added.

“So we decided to not send the ship, the aid ship,” the Iranian official said.

The Iran ’s first aid ship docked in Djibouti on May 22, where its cargo was inspected by the United Nations before being moved to Yemen.

Despite initial resistance, Tehran finally agreed to allow an international inspection of the vessel, averting a potential showdown with Saudi-led forces who are enforcing searches of ships entering Yemeni ports to stop arms reaching Houthi rebels.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition has imposed an air and naval blockade on Yemen as part of its campaign to oust the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi rebels, who have taken most of the country and forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
Saudi fighter jets have prevented Iranian planes from entering Yemeni airspace earlier.

Saudi Arabia accuses the Islamic Republic of providing military support to the Yemeni Shiite rebels, something that Tehran denies.
Iran had earlier sent five consignments of humanitarian aid to Yemen, including a total of 69 metric tons of relief, medical, treatment, and consumer items.

/By Trend/