UN prepares to condemn Iran for involvement in Yemen

Iran backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. (AP/Hani Mohammed)

The UN Security Council is set to condemn Iran for its destabilizing actions in Yemen.

By: AP and World Israel News Staff

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is expected to vote Monday on a British-drafted resolution that would condemn Iran for violating a UN arms embargo by providing missiles and drones to Shiite rebels in Yemen — and commit to future action against Tehran.

Kuwait’s UN Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaiba is the current council president. He told reporters Saturday, “We are still working on the text, but the intention is to adopt it Monday morning.”

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said this week he opposed the draft, saying it should be about renewing the work of experts monitoring sanctions against Yemen, not condemning Iran.

The experts said in a January report that they’d identified Iranian missile remnants and other equipment introduced into Yemen after the 2015 arms embargo that were fired into Saudi Arabia.

Addressing a press conference in December, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley provided “undeniable” evidence that Iran is violating international law by funneling missiles to Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The ambassador repeated Trump’s announcement in October that the US was “taking a new approach to Iran by focusing on all of the regime’s destabilizing behavior. That means we are focused not just on the nuclear program. We’re also taking a hard look at Iran’s ballistic missile program, its arms exports, and its support for terrorists, proxy fighters, and dictators.”

Iran’s destabilizing actions in Yemen are one of several operations the Islamic Republic is running in the Middle East with the objective of expanding its influence in the region.

Related Post