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Iranian aid cargo vessel for Yemen offloaded in Djibouti

United Nations officials in the Horn of Africa port of Djibouti said Saturday they had taken charge of the aid cargo carried by an Iranian ship headed for war-torn Yemen. The vessel, the MV Shahed, is carrying 2,500 tonnes of aid including flour, rice, canned food, medical supplies and bottled water, all urgently needed in the conflict-wracked state just across the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti. "The cargo has been handed over to WFP in Djibouti and is currently being offloaded," said UN World Food Programme spokeswoman Abeer Etefa told AFP. "The ship carries 2,500 ton of humanitarian aid and that includes mainly rice and wheat flour, as well as medicine, water, tents and blankets." Djiboutian authorities said the Iranian cargo ship arrived late Friday night in the Gulf of Aden port. "The ship will be completely unloaded and reloaded onto other vessels, everything is transparent," Djibouti port authority chief Abubaker Hadi told AFP. The ship's mission was overshadowed by US calls for it to head to a UN emergency relief hub in Djibouti instead of docking in the Yemeni port of Hodeida. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of arming Yemen's Huthi rebels, but Tehran denies the charge. Iran says it is helping in Yemen by opposing air strikes and providing aid. All aid and humanitarian assistance will be sent on WFP ships to Yemen, either in the port of Hodeida, or the southern port of Aden, Etefa added.

Controversial aid ship docked in Djibouti

The "Iran Shahed" docked in Djibouti on May 22, averting a showdown with Saudi Arabian and U.S. forces over its original plans to deliver the aid directly to a port in Yemen. Officials of the UN World Food Program agreed to move the ship's cargo to war-torn Yemen on Iran's behalf. Tehran agreed to let the UN inspect the vessel in a move which also averted a conflict with Saudi-led forces, which have been searching all ships entering Yemeni ports to stop arms from reaching Huthi rebels.

Iranian warships accompany what was said to be aid ship

Two Iranian warships joined the "Iran Shahed" on its way to Yemen with 2500 tons aid cargo. The ship will stop at Djibouti for international inspection, diminishing the risk of a showdown with the Saudi-led military coalition blockading Yemeni ports. The vessel will be inspected by the United Nations at Djibouti, less than 20 miles across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen. The ship was due to dock in Hodeidah port on May 21 to discharge aid necessities like flour, rice, medicines and clothes, which are scarce in Yemen due to the fighting. The United States asked Iran to hand over the aid according to the rules of the UN, through the distribution platform mounted in Djibouti, in front of the Yemeni coast. However, Iran claimed that had coordinated with the UN so that the ship could unload at the port of Hodeidah under control of the Shiite rebel huthis. On board was a journalist from the Iranian agency Tasneem, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, several doctors, as well as journalists and anti-war militants of the United States, Germany and France. The United States announced they were watching the freighter while the Iranian authorities have warned against any attempt to inspect the boat. Saudi Arabia, who leads the Arab coalition that militarily intervenes in Yemen since March 26, accuses Iran of delivering arms to the rebels.