Iran issues warning over Yemen air strikes

Iran has told the UN Security Council that Saudi-led air strikes have twice hit close to its embassy in Yemen and warned of “serious consequences” if more such bombings occur.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo said in a letter released Tuesday that the embassy in Sanaa suffered severe damage during air strikes on May 25 and that this followed a similar attack on April 20.

“I would like to warn that a repetition of similar air strikes close to my country’s diplomatic representation in the future can have serious consequences, including for the safety and security of Iranian diplomats in Sanaa,” Khoshroo wrote in the letter to the 15-member council.

The Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes on Yemen on March 26 to push back an offensive by Iranian-backed Shiite Huthi rebels who had seized Sanaa and were advancing on the southern city of Aden.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi was forced to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia during the Huthi advance on Aden.

In his letter, the Iranian ambassador requested that the Security Council urgently address the Saudi-led air campaign, now in its 11th week.

The United Nations will open a round of talks in Geneva on Sunday between Hadi’s government, the Huthi rebels and other political parties to end the violence in Yemen and chart a course on a political settlement.