Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan and Mr. Peter Maurer, head of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday discussed the latest developments in terms of the fronts in dire situations and needing humanitarian aid, especially in Yemen; Mr. Dehghan believed a disaster had hit the region, in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, where the civil war and foreign intervention had contributed to devastation of their infrastructures; “all should contribute to restore the stability and to stop the raging fires of the war,” Mr. Dehghan urged.
“In Aleppo, terrorists use civilians as human shields, with situation in terms of human suffering already deteriorated; we believe requests for cessation of hostilities in Aleppo serve the interests of terrorist groups and to improve their odds in a desperate situation under siege,” Dehghan emphasized, “where they replenish their arms and logistics and instill fresh spirit to their mercenaries.”
Mr. Maurer for his part believed the ICRC and Iran shared much of the views on the Middle East, with ties even improving after the Imposed War of 1980; “Iran and ICRC had been cooperating in handling the war phenomena such as mines, ruins of military machinery, and exploration of the lost and fallen soldiers in the frontlines; we also work to alleviate the effects of war and suffering on the civilians hit by the disaster,” Maurer told Dehghan.
“We share your concerns in Yemen; from Yemen to Syria, millions of civilians had been the major victim of military and political ambitions of players who would not care for human life, even they are used as human shields,” he added, “Iran and the ICRC are working to establish a common discourse possibly useful for all sides of the conflict, in line with a commitment to deliver humanitarian aid, and expect that Iran will aid ICRC as it did in the past.”
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