Iran And Russia Condemn US-UK Attack On Yemen's Houthis, China Asks All Parties To Refrain

JAKARTA - Iran and Russia have unitedly condemned the joint US and UK attacks on the Houthi position in Yemen, saying it would only escalate tensions in the region, while China called on all parties to the crisis in the Red Sea to exercise restraint.

Iranian authorities on Friday condemned the joint US and UK attacks on Houthi targets, calling the military offensive a "real violation of Yemen's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and "international law violations."

In a statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said, "an arbitrary attack would result in nothing but triggering insecurity and instability in the region," as reported by CNN January 12.

Kanani also accused the US and Britain of using the attack to distract from Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, urging the international community to prevent the spread of war and instability in the region by "reactions and actions responsible."

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova said Washington's position on the Red Sea at the UN Security Council was just an excuse to increase escalation in the region, insisting Russia condemned the US and UK attacks on facilities in Yemen.

"We are concerned that the US position on the UN Security Council regarding the Red Sea is just an excuse to further escalate tensions in the region. We strongly condemn the irresponsible actions taken by the US and its allies," the diplomat said.

According to Zakharova, a large-scale military escalation in the Red Sea region could reverse the positive trend that recently emerged in the Yemen settlement process, as well as "trigger the destabilization of the situation across the Middle East region."

"As we warned, to justify their aggression, Anglo-Saxon tried to use the 2722 UN Security Council Resolution, which was adopted the day before, under the pretext of ensuring the safety of navigation in the Red Sea. using a completely immoral and illegal method for a long time," Zakharova criticized.

"We call on the international community to strongly condemn the attacks on Yemen by a group of countries without the UN mandate," he stressed.

According to the diplomat, the Russian side has the same concern as its regional partners, particularly Saudi Arabia, and calls for "intensification of international efforts to prevent further escalation of the situation."

"We assume the adventures of this illegal coalition force pose a direct threat to global peace and security. Based on this understanding, we demand an urgent UN Security Council meeting, in which we will voice our principle assessment of this. illegal act," Zakharova said.

China calls on all parties to exercise restraint, following attacks on Yemen, to avoid escalating tensions in the region.

In a regular press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said Beijing "reported all relevant parties to remain calm and restrained, to prevent widespread conflict."

"We are willing to communicate with all parties and ease tensions, with the aim of jointly maintaining the security of international waterways," he added.

The joint attack came after the UN Security Council on Wednesday approved a resolution demanding the Houthis stop attacks on commercially important merchant ships in the Red Sea.

China and Russia were among the four countries that abstained in the vote.