Yemen on Sunday demanded an explanation from Tehran over an Iran-linked arms shipment seized last month and rejected interference in its internal affairs, state news agency Saba reported.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Yemeni government will not allow interference in its internal affairs from any party, or for its territories to become a site for proxy wars,\u201d Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told Iran\u2019s ambassador to Sanaa, Mahmud Hassan Zada.<\/p>\n
The foreign minister also \u201cdemanded an explanation from Iran on the vessel,\u201d intercepted by Yemeni coast guard in coordination with the US navy on January 23 in the Arabian Sea.<\/p>\n
The Jihan II was carrying rockets and explosives, which authorities in Sanaa say came from Iran, although Tehran denies any involvement.<\/p>\n
Yemen is still investigating the shipment whose eight-strong Yemeni crew are being questioned.<\/p>\n
A security official last week said the vessel came from Iran and that the arms \u201cwere destined for the Huthi rebels in Saada,\u201d the stronghold of Shiite fighters in northern Yemen.<\/p>\n
United Nations sanctions experts are investigating Sanaa\u2019s claims, according to New York-based diplomats.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yemen on Sunday demanded an explanation from Tehran over an Iran-linked arms shipment seized last month and rejected interference in its internal affairs, state news agency Saba reported. \u201cThe Yemeni government will not allow interference in its internal affairs from any party, or for its territories to become a site for proxy wars,\u201d Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told Iran\u2019s ambassador to Sanaa, Mahmud Hassan Zada. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n