Women Worst Affected by Mideast Crises

Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations says women have suffered the most from the ongoing turmoil in the Middle East.

Expressing sorrow over the protracted conflict and crises in the strategic region, Gholamali Khoshroo called for meaningful backing for the vulnerable groups in conflict zones.

He made the remarks on Tuesday in an address to the UN Security Council meeting in New York, Press TV reported.

"Women in the Middle East region live with deep fear resulting from the takfiri ideologies used by extremist and terrorist groups," he said.

"Terrorist groups systematically target women through  slavery, sexual violence and exploitation."

Exposure to sexual violence results in women losing their opportunity for social and economic development, he said.

The envoy noted that Israel's policy toward the people of Palestine, especially women and children, are just one example of how women's rights are being violated.

The occupying power has waged three wars on Gaza since 2008, including the 2014 offensive, which left more than 2,200 Palestinians dead and over 11,100 others injured.

The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli siege since 2007. The blockade has led to a dramatic decline in the standard of living as well as a substantial rise in unemployment and poverty as the oppressed Palestinians continue to suffer.

Khoshroo added that at least 1600 women have so far been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies started bombing Yemen.

A Saudi-led alliance has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in a bid to bring back to power the ousted president, Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh, and to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The Riyadh regime has, however, failed to achieve its goals despite spending billions of dollars in the conflict and tyring to defeat the Houthis in the Arab world's poorest nation.

According to reliable reports, the Saudi military aggression has cut short the lives of more than 12,000 people, most of them non-combatants and civilians.