ISLAMABAD: The Iranian embassy in Islamabad said on Friday it denied as “baseless accusations” an editorial by a Pakistani newspaper that suggested Tehran had supported Yemen’s Houthi rebels in a recent carry out attacks on the UAE.
Houthi rebels on Monday attacked the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi with missiles and drones, setting off explosions in fuel trucks that killed three people, including a Pakistani national, and injured six others.
English-language daily Dawn on Wednesday published an editorial titled “UAE targeted,” that said it was unlikely for the Houthis to develop such capabilities “without Iranian assistance.”
Reacting to the publication, the Iranian embassy issued a statement saying the newspaper had “put up negative and baseless accusations and allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran” by accusing it of supporting the attackers “without presenting any reason or document.”
It said it “strongly denied the allegations” by the Pakistani newspaper, adding that “such claims would have a detrimental effect on public opinion toward the relations between the two countries and to overshadow the positive dimensions of relations and cooperation between the two governments for peace and durable stability in the region.”
“It is obvious that the publication of negative and untruth material is not in line with the good neighborliness and the growing trajectory of comprehensive relations between the two friendly and brotherly countries of Iran and Pakistan.”
This handout satellite image made available by Planet Labs PBC shows white fire-suppressing foam after a blaze at a fuel depot of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) in the Musaffah industrial district in the Emirati capital, on January 17, 2022. (AFP_
Dawn’s editorial team declined comment despite a request by Arab News.
The Arab coalition in Yemen has been fighting Houthi rebels, who have also repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia with cross-border strikes.
In 2019, Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Aramco’s facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais in eastern Saudi Arabia had ignited large fires that had forced closure of both facilities and cut the kingdom’s production by nearly half.
