Emirati FM's 'false, hackneyed' claims aim to cover up UAE's destructive policies: Iran

Iran has dismissed recent "false, wrong and hackneyed" allegations made by the Emirati foreign minister during the opening meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi, saying such claims are aimed at covering up the country’s destructive policies toward the Muslim world.

"Unfortunately, certain countries have gotten used to repeating such claims in order to cover up the damage that their policies have imposed on the Muslim world," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Saturday.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 46th session of the Council of OIC Foreign Ministers in Abu Dhabi on Friday, Emirati Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan claimed that Iran was interfering in other states' domestic affairs and supporting, financing and arming terrorist groups.

Responding to the comments, Qassemi said the OIC had been established with the aim of "creating unity and convergence among member states."

"Taking advantage of the meetings of this organization and raising divisive and false issues against other members are a wrong move contrary to this organization’s objectives and philosophy, and will seriously undermine interaction and trust among the members," the Iranian spokesperson added.

He emphasized the OIC members that played host to the organization’s meetings and sessions must make efforts to foster unity and solidarity among Muslim nations and refrain from "taking advantage of the opportunity to put forward the objectives and policies dictated by countries outside the Muslim world.”

Qassemi advised the Emirati foreign minister to take a look at the situation in Yemen and the humanitarian catastrophe in the impoverished country caused by the military aggression of the United Arab Emirates and a number of other states, and to realize the real meaning of his country’s interference in the affairs of other Muslim states.

Read more:

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• Saudi-led coalition threatens to use ‘force’ in Yemen to drive Houthis out of Hudaydah
• UAE funneling Western-supplied arms to notorious militants in Yemen: Amnesty
• US training UAE aircrew in Yemen bombing campaign: Report

Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi’s government back to power and crushing the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.

PressTV-‘UAE recruiting Africa tribesmen for Saudi war on Yemen’

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia’s key partner in the ongoing Riyadh-led invasion of Yemen, is reportedly recruiting mercenaries across parts of northern and central Africa to fight in the war.

The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.

A number of Western countries, the US and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

PressTV-Over 80,000 Yemeni kids have died of starvation: UN

The UN chief says over 80,000 kids under the age of five have died of starvation in Yemen ever since the Saudi-led aggression on the country began in March 2015.

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that tens of thousands of children under the age of five had died of starvation in Yemen ever since Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the atrocious military aggression against the country.

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