Iran to send humanitarian aid ship to Yemen: report

Iran will ship humanitarian aid to war-stricken Yemen, chief of Iran's Red Crescent Society, Ali-Asghar Ahmadi, said Thursday.

A ship with a capacity of 2.5 tonnes capacity is being loaded with food parcels and medicine in Iran's southern Bandar Abbas port city, Ahmadi said.

The ship is scheduled to leave Iran's waters Saturday to arrive at its destination in approximately 10 days, he added.

Iran has been trying to send humanitarian aid to Yemen after the start of airstrikes and a blockade by a Saudi-led coalition, Ahmadi was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency.

Iran has informed the International Committee of the Red Cross and Saudi Arabia's Red Crescent Authority of the imminent dispatch of the ship, Ahmadi said.

On Tuesday, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hussein Amir-Abdollahian said that Iran would not allow the Saudi-led coalition to intercept the ship headed to Yemen.

"We will continue to send humanitarian aid to Yemen and never allow the country's siege," Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by semi-official Tasnim news agency.

"Regional security along with Iran's is intertwined with Yemen's security," he said.

Earlier, Amir-Abdollahian reiterated Iran's call for a diplomatic solution to the Yemeni crisis, reaffirming Tehran's support for dialogue with the warring sides in Yemen.

Fierce battles raged on in Yemen between the Shiite Houthi group and the tribal militia loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Over 1,000 people have been killed and 3,000 injured in the battles and airstrikes launched late March.

Saudi-led forces continue to bombard the Houthi group in Yemen despite announcing a suspension of air raids in late April.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said in a statement Monday that the coalition was considering pausing airstrikes to facilitate aid delivery.

Saudi Arabia accused Iran of arming and financing Houthi fighters, an accusation rejected by Tehran. Endit