Iranian navy escorts aid ship to Yemen

Tehran: An Iranian ship carrying humanitarian aid to war-torn Yemen was escorted by the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, media reported.

The Iranian navy will escort and support the vessel to the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, its captain Masoud Qazi Mirsaeed was quoted as saying by Iranian Tasneem news agency.

The ship will arrive in Hodeidah in three days, he added.

Last Monday, the Iranian aid ship carrying 2,500 tonnes of food supplies and medicine left the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for Yemen.

Iran has warned against any attempt to target its aid ship to Yemen. Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri said last week that attacking the ship would start a war in the region.

Saudi Arabia, along with eight other Arab states, has been bombing Shia Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh since March 26, aiming to reinstate the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was forced to flee the country.

Riyadh has long been accusing Iran of arming and financing the Houthi fighters, an accusation strongly rejected by Tehran.

The toll from the battles between Houthis and Hadi supporters and the airstrikes have exceeded 1,200, while more than 3,000 people have been wounded across the country, according to statistics released by the Yemeni government.