World Bulletin / News Desk

An Iranian aid ship now anchored at Djibouti Port will not go to Yemen, but its contents will be carried to the troubled country by a United Nations (UN) World Food Program ship, an official from Djibouti said Saturday.

The source, who asked not to be named, said the Iranian ship was being offloaded at the port before inspection in preparation for taking the contents to Yemen.

The World Food Program will be tasked with carrying the contents of the ship – around 2,500 tons of humanitarian goods – to Yemen in the light of a previous agreement between Iran and the UN, the source, who works at the port, told Anadolu Agency.

He noted that Djiboutian authorities will search the ship, given the fact that the ship is docked within Djiboutian territory.

The ship reached Djibouti Port on Thursday for inspection before its contents were carried to Yemen.

Djiboutian officials said earlier that the International Committee of the Red Cross would be responsible for searching the ship.

Yemen has been pounded by airstrikes since March 25 by a Saudi Arabia-led coalition established to fight Yemen's formidable Houthi militant group.

Saudi Arabia says it launched its campaign in response to appeals by Yemen's embattled president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, for help against the Houthis, whose growing influence in the fractious country has alarmed the predominantly  Gulf states.

Since the start of the campaign, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have imposed a tight naval embargo on Yemen to prevent military supplies from reaching Houthi militants.

Saudi Arabia and its allies accuse Iran of backing Yemen's Houthi insurgency.