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| Iran Accuses Saudi Arabia of Attacking Embassy in Yemen | Iran Accuses Saudi Arabia of Attacking Embassy in Yemen |
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| TEHRAN — The already volatile showdown between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated in Yemen on Thursday after the Iranians said their embassy had been hit by a Saudi airstrike, though witnesses said the building did not seem to have been struck. | TEHRAN — The already volatile showdown between Iran and Saudi Arabia escalated in Yemen on Thursday after the Iranians said their embassy had been hit by a Saudi airstrike, though witnesses said the building did not seem to have been struck. |
| The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen carried out its heaviest airstrikes in months over Sana, the capital, on Wednesday, when the Iranians said the attack on the embassy occurred. The coalition also dropped cluster bombs on the capital, according to witnesses and Human Rights Watch. | The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen carried out its heaviest airstrikes in months over Sana, the capital, on Wednesday, when the Iranians said the attack on the embassy occurred. The coalition also dropped cluster bombs on the capital, according to witnesses and Human Rights Watch. |
| A spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, condemned what he called “the Saudi aircraft missile attack on Iran’s Embassy in Sana,” and claimed that a number of the building’s guards had been wounded. | A spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, condemned what he called “the Saudi aircraft missile attack on Iran’s Embassy in Sana,” and claimed that a number of the building’s guards had been wounded. |
| But after guards at the embassy and witnesses told reporters that the building had not been hit, the spokesman later told the IRNA news agency that a missile had landed near the embassy and “one of the security guards sustained serious injuries.” | But after guards at the embassy and witnesses told reporters that the building had not been hit, the spokesman later told the IRNA news agency that a missile had landed near the embassy and “one of the security guards sustained serious injuries.” |
| The guards said the airstrike had hit a building across the street, a residence said to belong to a son of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former president, who ceded office in 2012 after a popular uprising. Shrapnel wounded some of the guards, according to Noaman al-Idrisi, a Yemeni security official who was at the embassy on Thursday. | The guards said the airstrike had hit a building across the street, a residence said to belong to a son of Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former president, who ceded office in 2012 after a popular uprising. Shrapnel wounded some of the guards, according to Noaman al-Idrisi, a Yemeni security official who was at the embassy on Thursday. |
| The deepening enmity between Iran and Saudi Arabia has threatened to worsen conflicts across the region, including the civil war that began in Yemen last year. Saudi Arabia took an active role there last March, aiming to defeat the Shiite-led rebels, known as the Houthis, who are viewed by the Saudis as proxies for Iran. | The deepening enmity between Iran and Saudi Arabia has threatened to worsen conflicts across the region, including the civil war that began in Yemen last year. Saudi Arabia took an active role there last March, aiming to defeat the Shiite-led rebels, known as the Houthis, who are viewed by the Saudis as proxies for Iran. |
| About 2,800 civilians have been killed in the fighting since then, most of them in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, according to the United Nations. | About 2,800 civilians have been killed in the fighting since then, most of them in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, according to the United Nations. |
| The Houthis, who are allied with Mr. Saleh, drove out his successor, President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia supports Mr. Hadi, and the airstrikes have repeatedly struck houses belonging to Mr. Saleh, his family and his allies in heavily populated parts of Sana. | The Houthis, who are allied with Mr. Saleh, drove out his successor, President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Saudi Arabia supports Mr. Hadi, and the airstrikes have repeatedly struck houses belonging to Mr. Saleh, his family and his allies in heavily populated parts of Sana. |
| The embassy episode added another dimension to a dispute that has shaken the Middle East since Saturday, when Saudi Arabia executed 47 men, including a dissident Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. | The embassy episode added another dimension to a dispute that has shaken the Middle East since Saturday, when Saudi Arabia executed 47 men, including a dissident Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. |
| In recent weeks, the Saudi-led military coalition has appeared to step up its efforts to achieve an outright victory. At the same time, the Houthis, who are from Yemen’s north, have escalated their attacks on the Saudi border, firing missiles and mounting cross-border raids. | In recent weeks, the Saudi-led military coalition has appeared to step up its efforts to achieve an outright victory. At the same time, the Houthis, who are from Yemen’s north, have escalated their attacks on the Saudi border, firing missiles and mounting cross-border raids. |
| A spokesman for Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said earlier this week that civilian casualties had increased in December because of the intensified fighting, and expressed alarm at reports that the coalition was dropping cluster munitions in northern Yemen. | A spokesman for Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, said earlier this week that civilian casualties had increased in December because of the intensified fighting, and expressed alarm at reports that the coalition was dropping cluster munitions in northern Yemen. |
| The Yemeni government reacted on Thursday by barring the high commissioner’s representative, George Abu-Zulof, from the country, accusing the agency of ignoring “systematic violations” by the Houthis and their allies, including a continuing, bloody siege of the city of Taiz. | The Yemeni government reacted on Thursday by barring the high commissioner’s representative, George Abu-Zulof, from the country, accusing the agency of ignoring “systematic violations” by the Houthis and their allies, including a continuing, bloody siege of the city of Taiz. |
| In a statement on Thursday, the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, condemned the Yemeni government’s decision and said that the Yemeni authorities had failed to uphold their obligations to let the United Nations do its work free of interference. “United Nations staff must never be threatened or sanctioned for doing their work,” Mr. Ban said. | |
| Despite condemnations over its deployment of cluster munitions, the coalition for the first time dropped the ordnance on neighborhoods in Sana this week, Human Rights Watch charged on Thursday. Markings on the bomb remnants indicated they had been manufactured in the United States in 1978, the group said in a statement. | Despite condemnations over its deployment of cluster munitions, the coalition for the first time dropped the ordnance on neighborhoods in Sana this week, Human Rights Watch charged on Thursday. Markings on the bomb remnants indicated they had been manufactured in the United States in 1978, the group said in a statement. |
| The cluster munitions, which disperse bomblets over a wide area, killed Essa al-Farasi, 16, on Wednesday, his family said. The boy had been walking to a mosque near his home in the Mathbah neighborhood when he was killed, said his brother Ayman al-Farasi. “We are used to the sound of explosions, but it was like a large bottle had exploded and small things fell to the ground,” Mr. al-Farasi said. “We had never seen anything like it before.” | The cluster munitions, which disperse bomblets over a wide area, killed Essa al-Farasi, 16, on Wednesday, his family said. The boy had been walking to a mosque near his home in the Mathbah neighborhood when he was killed, said his brother Ayman al-Farasi. “We are used to the sound of explosions, but it was like a large bottle had exploded and small things fell to the ground,” Mr. al-Farasi said. “We had never seen anything like it before.” |