The deputy foreign minister for Arab and African Affairs called on international relief agencies to speed up their efforts to send medical and humanitarian supplies to Yemen, urging the United Nations to play a more active role to help accelerate the delivery of aid to the "oppressed" and "defenseless" Arab nation.
Hossein Amir Abdollahian made the appeal in a phone conversation with the UN secretary general's envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, on Tuesday.
"In line with its regulations regarding human rights and through consulting with other countries, the UN needs to commit Saudi Arabia to announcing a ceasefire in Yemen and (take measures to) bring an immediate end to its attacks against the country," he said, also calling for secure channels to be opened for the dispatch of aid to the war-torn country.
Referring to Saudi Arabia's repeated violations of a five-day ceasefire in Yemen and the humanitarian catastrophe arising from its airstrikes, he expressed regret that during the temporary truce, no effective measure was adopted to help the war-affected people.
"Many of the injured people, mostly children and women, are about to lose their lives for being prevented from receiving treatment in other countries and also for a severe shortage of medical supplies," he noted.
The UN official, in turn, stressed the significance of speeding up the dispatch of relief aid to the Yemeni people and said the UN is making efforts to secure a lasting ceasefire in Yemen.
He also said he plans to travel to Iran in the near future to consult with Iranian authorities with the aim of finding political solutions to end the war in Yemen.
Aid Ship to Head to Djibouti
Meanwhile, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday that the aid ship bound for Yemen, the Iran Shahed, will be redirected to Djibouti, where the United Nations has set up a supply hub to oversee humanitarian deliveries.
A Saudi-led coalition has imposed searches on all vessels trying to enter Yemen. Iran had announced earlier that it would not allow the coalition forces to inspect the ship.
"The countries engaged in the war will not be allowed access to the vessel, which is carrying humanitarian relief, for inspection," the foreign ministry spokesperson, Marzieh Afkham, was quoted by IRIB news as saying last week.
After going through inspection in Djibouti, the vessel will head toward the Yemeni port of Hodaida.
