US says Houthi missile fired into S Arabia was ‘made in Iran’

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented “concrete” evidence on Thursday that a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen at Saudi Arabia last month was Iranian-made, a charge Tehran immediately denied.

Haley accused Tehran of a “blatant violation” of UN Security Council obligations designed to reign in its missile activity, further stepping up the rhetoric towards Iran which Washington accuses of going against the spirit of a historic nuclear accord.

“It was made in Iran then sent to Houthi militants in Yemen,” Haley said in an emptied-out hangar at a military base not far from the US Capitol, where fragments recovered from missiles launched from Yemen were paraded before reporters.

“From there it was fired at a civilian airport with the potential to kill hundreds of innocent civilians in Saudi Arabia.”

TRT World's Ediz Tiyansan reports from Washington.

Iran's denial

Alireza Miryousefi, the spokesman at Iran’s mission to the United Nations, said Tehran “categorically” rejects the US claims.

“This purported evidence, put on public display today, is as much fabricated as the one presented on some other occasions earlier,” he said.

The Iranian mission said the accusations levelled by Haley were intended to divert attention from the devastating war in Yemen being led by Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.

To some critics, the spectacle at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling carried eerie echoes of former Secretary of State Colin Powell's 2003 speech to the UN making the case for the Iraq War. 

As he sought support for a new resolution, Powell said the U.S. had a "thick intelligence file" detailing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, at one point using satellite photos and a fake anthrax vial as props. Days later, the United States invaded. Weapons of mass destruction were never found.

Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, drew the comparison on Twitter, with side-by-side photos of Haley on Thursday and Powell in his 2003 speech. "When I was based at the UN, I saw this show and what it begat," tweeted Zarif, who was formerly Iran's ambassador to the UN.

Indeed, the U.S. acknowledged it couldn't account for the full chain of custody, such as how the missiles got into Yemen — an admission that suggests there are still holes in the U.S. intelligence.

Haley has called on the UN Security Council to take a tougher stance toward Iran, accusing Tehran of making illegal arms deals in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.

What makes it Iranian?

A confidential report to the council says UN officials had examined debris from missiles fired at Saudi Arabia which pointed to a “common origin” but there was no firm conclusion as to whether they came from an Iranian supplier.

Haley said the missile was an Iranian Qiam-class short-range ballistic missile and pointed to valves that she said proved its origin. The Qiam-1 is based on a modified Scud design. 

One shredded piece of metal displayed to reporters bore the logo of Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, an Iranian defence entity under US sanctions.

Other debris had specific technical characteristics, such as a certain valve, that only Iranian missiles have — "Iranian missile fingerprints," Haley said. 

"The weapons might as well have had 'Made in Iran' stickers," Haley quipped.

‘Bleeding Saudi Arabia of money’

The report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was obtained by AFP, said the officials were still analysing the information.

In his report, Guterres said officials had seen the Shahid group logo but that they were still analysing the information.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Iran’s apparent willingness to risk transferring missiles to the Houthis indicates that the Yemeni theatre “may not be as peripheral to Tehran as previously assumed.” 

“Bleeding Saudi Arabia of money and men is a clear goal for Iran as it continues its war in Yemen,” he said in an email.

Aside from leading a military campaign in Yemen, Saudi Arabia has deployed expensive Patriot missiles at home to guard against incoming rockets.

Recent Iranian missile launches have triggered US sanctions and accusations they violate the spirit of a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers.

“This is not just about the nuclear programme. This is about everything else they’re doing... Iran believes they have been given a pass,” Haley charged.

A Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen imposed a blockade of Yemen’s air and seaports and borders after the missile was fired at Riyadh, citing concerns that weapons were being smuggled into Yemen. The blockade also impacted the transfer of humanitarian aid to a country struggling with poverty, hunger and medical shortages.