Missiles fired at Saudi Arabia by Houthis appear to have a slogan similar to that of Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, according to a report for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, knowing that this group is designated on the UN blacklist.
Officials traveled to Saudi Arabia to examine the debris of missiles fired on July 22 and Nov. 4, wrote Guterres in the fourth biannual report on the implementation of UN sanctions and restrictions on Iran.
They found “that the missiles had similar structural and manufacturing features which suggest a common origin,” said Guterres in the report to the UN Security Council, seen by Reuters.
The report comes amid calls by the United States for Tehran to be held accountable for violating UN Security Council resolutions on Yemen and Iran by supplying weapons to the Houthis.
The officials are “still analyzing the information collected and will report back to the Security Council,” wrote Guterres.
A separate report to the Security Council last month by a panel of independent experts monitoring sanctions imposed in Yemen found that four missiles fired this year into Saudi Arabia appear to have been designed and manufactured by Iran.
However, the panel said it “has no evidence yet as to the identity of the broker or supplier” of the missiles, which were likely shipped to the Houthis in violation of a targeted UN arms embargo imposed on insurgent leaders in April 2015.
UN teams are anticipated to arrive in the kingdom, this month, to discuss “the mechanism of inspections and investigation” adopted by the UN on the Yemeni navy ports. On several occasions, the Coalition to Support the Legitimacy in Yemen affirmed that smuggling still takes place and accused Tehran of arming and supporting Houthis.
Following the Nov.4 ballistic missile attack, the Coalition announced a temporary closure of Yemeni ports. After two days, it started to reopen them gradually.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition, declared in a previous statement that the coalition has “determined the gap and is still waiting for them”, in a hint on the anticipated UN teams.
