Officials of the Foreign Ministry and the International Committee of the Red Cross discussed ways to increase humanitarian aid to the war-wrecked countries in the region, including Yemen, Syria and Iraq, according to a Foreign Ministry press release.
Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Robert Mardini, ICRC's director for the Middle East, in Tehran on Tuesday.
Referring to the ICRC's responsibility to provide the crisis-hit regional countries with humanitarian assistance, Amir Abdollahian said the relief organization's aid to Yemen is insufficient and called on the ICRC and the international community to take "immediate" and "effective" measures to systematically deliver aid to the impoverished country.
The Syrian government has been engaged in a violent conflict with militants over the past four and a half years and Yemen has been under air attack by a Saudi-led coalition since March.
The so-called Islamic State militant group has also made sweeping advances in Iraq leaving a trail of devastation.
The senior Iranian diplomat underlined the need to help prevent a human catastrophe in Yemen, saying, "Some players' miscalculations and measures in violation of human rights as well as other countries' rules and regulations have hampered efforts by international aid agencies, on the one hand, and contributed to the escalation of the humanitarian situation in the war-stricken countries, on the other."
The ICRC official expressed concern over the grim humanitarian situation in the region and elaborated on measures by the institution in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
Mardini said the relief agency is faced with dangerous conditions as it tries to provide assistance and a number of its aid workers have lost their lives over the past few weeks, but the organization has not stopped its activities and is committed to helping the Yemeni civilians, who are in dire need of food and medicine.
"War is a barrier to the safe shipment of goods while convincing militant groups to give access to us is another obstacle."
In conclusion, he hailed Tehran's humanitarian assistance to Iraq and Syria and said the ICRC is trying to send Iran's aid supplies to the Yemenis.
