Yemen Update: UAE Occupies Historic Island, Missile Strike on Presidential Palace
The occupation of historic Socotra archipelago by forces of the United Arab Emirates was denounced on Monday as an “unjustified” attack on “national sovereignty.”
The occupation of historic Socotra archipelago by forces of the United Arab Emirates was denounced on Monday as an “unjustified” attack on “national sovereignty.”
Contents: Residents of Yemen’s Socotra island protest UAE military deployment; Rift grows between Saudi Arabia and UAE in Yemen
The New York Times reported on Thursday that U.S. Army Green Berets have been quietly working with Saudi forces in Yemen since late last year, allegedly in contradiction of official statements that America gave only logistical and intelligence support to the Saudi-led campaign against Iran-backed Houthi insurgents. The news comes as Sudan considers withdrawing from participation in the Saudi intervention, which has now been in progress for over three years.
Iran’s ruling regime blasted the “unholy partnership” between the United States and Saudi Arabia on Monday, arguing it will bring “further instability, war, extremism and an arms race in the Middle East.”
WASHINGTON, DC — Rival terrorist groups Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are capitalizing on the security vacuum created by deteriorating security conditions in Yemen to expand their influence, a top Pentagon official cautioned lawmakers.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced a $930 million donation to the United Nations humanitarian efforts in Yemen as the war between the Saudi-led Sunni coalition and Shiite Iran-allied Houthi militants continues to rage.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen fired a salvo of seven ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, targeting the cities of Najran, Jizan, Khamis Mushait, and the capital of Riyadh. Saudi defense forces say they were able to intercept all seven missiles. One fatality and two injuries were reported as debris from an intercepted missile fell on a home in Riyadh and killed an Egyptian resident. The death marked the first fatality on Saudi soil from a Houthi attack.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) told Breitbart News Tuesday that he supports “in principle” a bipartisan, anti-establishment effort in the Senate to invoke the War Powers Act to end U.S. military participation in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
Iran claimed Monday that it could produce higher enriched uranium within a 48-hour period if the United States exits the 2015 nuclear deal, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Contents: From missile strikes and bombings to cholera, war-torn Yemen deteriorates; Saudi Arabia sacks its top tier of military commanders
The Islamic Republic of Iran is reportedly acting more visibly upon what it refers to as “the axis of resistance” by mobilizing its growing network of terrorist proxies throughout multiple Middle Eastern countries, particularly in Syria, in light of a recent incident between Iran and Israel.
General Nasser al-Dhaybani, a senior commander for Yemen’s internationally recognized but deposed government, predicted in an interview with Sky News on Monday that the government is winning the brutal four-year Yemeni civil war, and could recapture the capital city of Sanaa from Iran-backed Houthi insurgents very soon.
TEL AVIV – Lebanese terror group Hezbollah may use suicide ships in its next war with Israel, R.-Adm. Prof. Shaul Chorev told The Jerusalem Post.
Contents: Clashes erupt between Saudi and UAE backed forces in South Yemen’s port of Aden; Brief generational history of South Yemen
Contents: Iranian advisors are ‘on the ground’ with Houthis in Yemen, supplying weapons and intelligence; Forces realign in the Yemen war following the death of Ali Abdullah Saleh
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, noted this week that there is mounting evidence showing that Iran is indeed arming Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of the U.N. resolution that codifies the nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world powers into international law.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked the capital of Saudi Arabia, with a ballistic missile on Tuesday, specifically targeting the Saudi royal palace. Saudi media reports that air defenses were able to intercept the missile. Reporters in Riyadh heard an explosion and saw a “plume of smoke” in the sky above the city.
A report in Saudi outlet Al Arabiya on Monday cites local sources in Yemen as claiming that internal strife among the nation’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels has claimed the lives of more than 30 fighters who attempted to desert the movement.
Media aligned with the Houthi insurgents in Yemen reported on Wednesday that the Saudi-led coalition intervening in Yemen’s civil war intensified its airstrikes against positions occupied by rebels. Among those positions were the residence of Yemen’s ex-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was gunned down by his erstwhile Houthi allies this week. The U.N. reported at least 25 airstrikes in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa over the past 24 hours.
Contents: Yemen’s former president Ali Abdullah Saleh killed in Houthi ambush; US officials plan for military strike on North Korea and war; Brexit negotiations collapse over Ireland border issue
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the former president of Yemen who became an ally of the Houthi insurgency, has been killed in an attack near the capital city of Sanaa.
Contents: Yemen war changes direction with collapse of Iran-backed Houthi coalition; The Houthi-Saleh ‘alliance of convenience’ crumbles into violence
Violent clashes between rival factions in Yemen’s rebel-held capital continued Saturday for the fourth straight day as forces loyal to a former president and Iran-backed Shiite rebels known as Houthis faced off in the streets of Sana’a, signaling disintegration in the rebel alliance at war with a Saudi-led coalition for nearly three years.
The ballistic missiles that Yemen’s Houthi Shi’ite rebels fired at Saudi Arabia were designed and built in Iran, according to a United Nations (U.N.) report.
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia said Monday that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen will begin reopening airports and seaports in the Arab world’s poorest country, days after closing them over a rebel ballistic missile attack on Riyadh.
Contents: All Saudis ordered to leave Lebanon, as Hariri’s fate is unknown; Saudi Arabia blockades Yemen, threatening millions to die in famine
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced a new round of strikes in Yemen on Wednesday, as Saudi Arabia invoked its right of self-defense against a weekend missile attack it blamed on Iran acting through proxy forces.
UNITED NATIONS — The UN humanitarian chief warned Wednesday that unless the Saudi-led military coalition lifts its blockade on Yemen the war-torn nation will face “the largest famine the world has seen for many decades, with millions of victims.”
The United States has joined Saudi Arabia in accusing Iran of arming the Houthi insurgents in Yemen with advanced weapons, such as the missile fired at the Saudi capital over the weekend. The White House condemned Iran’s actions as “blatant violations of international law.”
Former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton joined SiriusXM host Alex Marlow and special co-host Stephen K. Bannon on Monday’s Breitbart News Daily to look at this weekend’s momentous events in Saudi Arabia.
Contents: Hezbollah’s Nasrallah calls for calm in the streets of Lebanon; Yemen’s Houthi missile attack on Riyadh called a ‘dangerous escalation’; Saudi’s young Crown Prince Salman forces rapid change among multiple crises
Middle Eastern news outlets are claiming an aircraft carrying Prince Mansour bin Muqrin, deputy governor of the Asir Province, and several other Saudi government officials crashed near the provincial capital of Ahba Sunday.
Contents: Saad Hariri shocks Lebanon by resigning as PM while in Saudi Arabia; Lebanon enters the Sunni/Shia front line between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Alleged leaked email correspondence between two former U.S. officials suggests that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wishes to end the war in Yemen, two long and bloody years after he started it.
The U.N.’s top official in Yemen is on his way out, sources tell Breitbart News, with the United Nations “actively looking” to quietly push the under-fire envoy out the door when his contract runs out in September, all while the Yemen civil war continues to quickly spiral out of control.
As a years-long civil war and a growing cholera epidemic wreak havoc in Yemen, United Nations officials expressed frustration and rang alarm bells Wednesday but offered little hope of a solution.
Contents: Hezbollah’s Nasrallah makes delusional speech about ‘foreign fighters’ attacking Israel; Saudis report close relationships between Hezbollah and Qatar; How to do a generational analysis of the Mideast.
A senior official with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels told Breitbart News that the group is refusing to deal with the U.N. unless it replaces its special envoy for the region.
As tensions mount in the Middle East, one cannot help but wonder whether eschatological factors are playing out or whether nations looking to influence outcomes in a positive way still have roles to play. Those of us unwilling yet to accept end-of-world prophecies prefer the emphasis be put upon the latter.
On Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan threatened destruction against every part of Saudi Arabia, except the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, if hostilities should erupt between the two countries.