The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), in a statement released on Saturday, categorically rejected the claim made in a September 14 letter by Saudi Arabia to the UN Security Council concerning the alleged transfer of weapons to the Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah fighters and the violation of UN Resolution 2216 by Iran.
“Unsubstantiated claims can be seen in Saudi Arabia’s letter, claims that no impartial body has ever been able to prove,” the Iranian mission’s statement read.
“This is while Saudi Arabia has for over a year and a half been involved in a full-scale, unequal war — which is devoid of logic — against the people of Yemen and has perpetrated undeniable crimes against the country’s defenseless civilians, children and women,” the statement read.
“Saudi Arabia, which, while destroying Yemen’s infrastructure, has no compunction about attacking hospitals and schools, is accusing Iran of breaching international resolutions while it (Riyadh) has violated international rules and civilian rights on numerous occasions based on documented reports,” the statement further read.
The Iranian UN mission said it was surprising that Saudi Arabia was complaining to the Security Council about the use of weapons in Yemen while it has itself spent tens of billions of dollars on the purchase of munitions to be used against the people of Yemen.
It said Iran does not believe there is a military solution to the Yemeni crisis and “has always demanded an end to hostilities and disagreements [there] through dialog and recourse to lawful and peaceful mechanisms.”
Saudi Arabia has been pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the death toll in the war at about 10,000. The offensive was launched to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as Yemen’s president.
A recent survey by a group of academics and human rights activists revealed that Saudi Arabia targeted 3,158 non-military sites in Yemen between March 2015 and the end of August this year.
The findings, published by The Guardian on Friday, further revealed that there were 942 air raids on residential areas, 114 on markets, 34 on mosques, 147 on school buildings, 26 on universities and 378 on transport sites during the mentioned period.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said last month that the death toll from the Saudi military aggression could rise even further as some areas had no medical facilities, and that people were often buried without any official record being made.
The natural entrance to Ali Sadr cave (sinkhole) has been made accessible by stairs. It is gated and roofed. The stairs lead down to a concrete walkway in a dry gallery of approximately 3-4 m of height and 6-8 m width. The surface water enters the sinkhole during the wet months of the year, follows the walkway and disappears to the left where the first lake can be found. The dry entrance section of the cave connects through joint-controlled maze of smaller passages to the artificial (main) entrance to Ali Sadr cave.
The walkways coming from both entrances join at the beginning of the water-filled passages of Ali Sadr cave where the main jetty from which the boats that take tourist through the cave are boarded. Tourists are guided into plastic boats at this point and these are pulled through the cave by paddling boats (Pedlo’s) paddled and steered by the guides. The underground boat trip follows the main gallery to the SW that is up to 25 m wide and 4 m high (above water level), passing some maintenance facilities (cabins, boat depots, water-level indicator etc.).
After approximately 100 m the main route opens up into a wide lake passage once again. This runs straight in a SE direction for the next 300 m. There are four large passages leading to the NE towards the central north-south-axis of the cave (see below) some of which are galleries up to 40 m wide and 30 m high.
Freedom Hall was created by breakdown along tectonic fault zones and the visitor has to ascend about 30m up a boulder pile via a succession of fine marble stairs. At the highest point of the boulder pile the climb ends in a circular marble platform overlooking an impressive chamber that at its longest axis is 100m wide.
To the W extensive labyrinthine water-filled passages of smaller dimensions can be found. However, before the dinosaur is reached again, the guided tour leaves the known gallery to enter a very large passage that makes up the main north-south-axis in the central section of Ali Sadr cave.
The usual tourist visit uses the artificial tunnel entrances to the cave exclusively. Visitors undertaking the ‘regular’ tour are guided a distance of about 2.100 m through the cave, 1.470 m of which is by boat. The ‘extended’ tour (“”wedding room””) involves an underground boat course of 2.010 m: the longest underground boat trip world-wide.