Saudi Strikes on Yemeni Mourners Condemned

Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned Saudi Arabia's airstrikes on a funeral hall packed with mourners in the Yemeni capital Sana'a, which left tens of defenseless civilians dead.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Saturday the international community is still silent on the Saudi military aggression and the killing of Yemenis over the past one and a half years, Press TV reported.

"In order to put an end to the fabricated crisis in Yemen, there is no way but to stop the belligerent nature of the brutal Al Saud aggressors and begin serious dialogue with the participation of all Yemeni sides," he said.

Qasemi expressed Iran's disgust over such an inhumane and heinous crime and sympathized with the families of the victims.

Yemeni media said on Saturday over 140 people had been killed and more than 550 others wounded after Saudi jets conducted at least nine airstrikes on Khamis Street in southern Sana'a.

The Saudi missiles tore through a hall where a funeral for the father of Interior Minister Jalal al-Roweishan was being held, destroying the building. In September last year, Saudi jets bombarded a wedding ceremony in the town of Mokha in the southwestern province of Taiz, killing over 130 civilians. The victims were mostly women and children.

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a deadly campaign against Yemen since March 2015. Riyadh's aggression, which has killed more than 10,000 in Yemen, was launched to restore power to fugitive president Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh who has been ousted as Yemen's president but seeks to force his way back into power. The campaign also seeks to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which is in control of the capital and is part of a coalition that runs the impoverished Arab country.

  US Shares Blame  

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani criticized Washington for its role in the deadly strikes, saying US weapons were used in the attacks. The Yemeni people at the funeral ceremony were bombed with weapons delivered by the US to the "aggressive Saudi Army", Shamkhani said in a statement on Sunday, Tasnim News Agency reported. He stressed that the US is an accomplice to the crime and should be held accountable for it.

"Sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and the UAE play a key factor in the military aggression against Yemen and the killing of innocent Yemenis, and the West should stop it," he said.