IRGC Rejects Trump Charge About Role in Saudi Missile Attack

The head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied on Sunday accusations by US President Donald Trump that Iran was behind the firing of a ballistic missile at Saudi Arabia from warring Yemen, rejecting it as one of the US president’s “slanders”. Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted the missile, bringing it down near the airport in the capital Riyadh on Saturday. State news agencies said that it did not cause any casualties, Reuters reported.

“A shot was just taken by Iran, in my opinion, at Saudi Arabia ... and our system knocked the missile out of the air,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Tokyo.

But Mohammad Ali Jafari, head of IRGC, which is in charge of Iran’s missile program, said: “Mr Trump has said many baseless things and told many lies and frequently falsely accused Iran. This is one of those slanders,” IRNA reported.

“We do not have even the possibility to transfer missiles to Yemen. The missiles belong to them and they have increased their range,” Jafari was quoted as saying.

A US-backed Saudi-led coalition has launched thousands of airstrikes against Houthi fighters and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh who have fired dozens of missiles into Saudi territory over the course of a 2-1/2 year war.