Jazayeri: Attack on Iranian Relief Ship Will Lead the Region to War

On Tuesday, May 22, the deputy chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces warned that an attack on the Iranian "relief" ship heading to Yemen would lead the region to war. Masoud Jazayeri, in an interview with the Arabic-language network "Al-Alam," responded to the question of what the response would be if Saudi Arabia prevented the humanitarian aid ship from reaching Yemen's shores, stating: "I explicitly announce that the restraint of the Islamic Republic of Iran has its limits." According to the Fars News Agency, he addressed the United States and Saudi Arabia, saying: "If they continue to create disturbances for the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding humanitarian assistance to the countries in the region, a fire may break out that they will certainly be unable to control." These remarks by the military commander regarding "creating disturbances for Iran's humanitarian assistance" refer to the bombing of Sana'a airport on May 8 by Saudi warplanes to prevent an Iranian cargo plane from landing, as well as the U.S. warning regarding the movement of the Iranian "relief ship" towards Yemen, which was announced on Tuesday. Iran strongly protested the bombing of Sana'a airport and summoned the Saudi chargé d'affaires in Tehran to the Foreign Ministry. Meanwhile, General Ahmed Asiri, the spokesperson for the Saudi army, stated that the Iranian aircraft had not coordinated with the regional coalition for landing at Sana'a airport. Yemen has been subjected to heavy bombing by Saudi warplanes and the regional coalition for several weeks due to the advances of the Shiite Houthi militants. The Iranian Red Crescent announced last week that the ship "Iran Shahid" carrying 2,500 tons of humanitarian aid was heading to Yemen. An Iranian military commander also stated that this ship is being protected by the 34th naval group of the army to reach Yemen. On Tuesday, the U.S. urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to redirect the "Iran Shahid" ship towards Djibouti instead of Yemen, where the United Nations has established a center for distributing humanitarian aid. In his remarks on Tuesday, Masoud Jazayeri expressed hope that "at least some aid would reach the people of Yemen" and warned the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that "otherwise, they should expect other actions," adding, "Let’s talk about these other actions in the future." He referred to the Saudi rulers as "novices" and stated that the country is "conducting a proxy war on behalf of the Americans and some European hegemonic powers and international Zionism in Yemen." The Islamic Republic of Iran is accused of providing weapons and other military equipment to the Houthi rebels, who captured Sana'a, the capital, last September. Despite extensive bombing by Saudi warplanes in support of forces loyal to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the president of Yemen, the group was able to dominate large parts of the city of Aden near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait last week. In this context, the outlook for tensions between Tehran and Riyadh is significant, with Rouhani considering Saudi intervention in Yemen a "strategic mistake." The Houthis accepted a five-day ceasefire proposed by Saudi Arabia. Iran announced the protection of the humanitarian aid ship to Yemen, while the Pentagon stated that Iran should send the humanitarian aid ship to Djibouti. Saudi Arabia stated that the U.S. meeting focused on Iran's "aggressive policy."