Senior Cleric Blasts Saudi Arabia for Continued Massacre of Yemeni People

Addressing a large and fervent congregation of the people in Tehran on Friday, Ayatollah Khatami said, "Yemen has become a slaughterhouse of civilians, and the country is being affected by fatal contagious diseases."

The senior cleric reminded that there are 22 million people suffering from famine in Yemen, and said, "The savage Saudis do not even allow food trucks to go into Yemen."

Ayatollah Khatami called on the United Nations and human rights advocates to do something concrete in this respect.

At least 15,700 people have been killed since the onset of Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen in 2015. Much of the country's infrastructure, including hospitals, schools and factories, has been reduced to rubble due to the war.

The Saudi-led war has also triggered a deadly cholera epidemic across Yemen.

According to the World Health Organization’s latest tally, the cholera outbreak has killed 2,167 people since the end of April 2017 and is suspected to have infected 841,906.