Russia on Wednesday dismissed evidence presented by the United States and UN experts that Iran had supplied missiles to Yemen's Houthi rebels as inconclusive, AFP reported.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley brought Security Council envoys to a U.S. military base in Washington to view missile parts that the U.S. calls evidence of Iran’s illicit transfer of prohibited missiles to Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Trump administration maintains that fragments from those missiles, recovered in Saudi Arabia after being launched from Yemen by the Houthis, contain markings proving they were Iranian-made, though some security experts have questioned whether the evidence is foolproof. Iran denies it is backing the Houthis.
Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Wednesday it was unclear whether missiles and weaponry used by the rebels were sent by Iran or whether they were shipped before the arms embargo on Yemen was imposed in 2015, casting doubt over the findings of a UN panel of experts.
"Iran is vehemently denying it is supplying anything to Yemen," Nebenzia told two reporters, according to AFP.
"Yemen hosts a pile of weapons from the old days. Many countries were competing to supply weapons to Yemen during the time of president Saleh, so I cannot give you anything conclusive," he argued. READ MORE
