This file photo taken on Nov 10, 2019 shows an Iranian flag in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility. (ATTA KENARE / AFP)
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied US claims that it had sent weapons to Yemen.
In reply to a question about an allegation that an Iranian vessel with ammunition was stopped on the way to Yemen recently, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that the "repeated allegation" is "baseless" and "is only made for political exploitation."
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of the northern provinces
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On Saturday, the US Navy said that it had seized an Iranian fishing trawler with ammunition en route to Yemen.
"Iran has always used all its capacity to establish peace, stability and security in Yemen, and believes that only the Yemenis can make decisions regarding their fate without the interference of outsiders," Kanaani said.
Therefore, accusations against Iran are a continuation of the "destructive approach of the US government as the main supporter of the aggression against Yemen" which has caused a humanitarian crisis in the Arab country, he noted.
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Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi militia seized control of the northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the following year to support the Yemeni government.