Dies ist die Fortsetzung von Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 732, Teil 1 / This is the sequel of Yemen War Mosaic 732, part 1:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-732-yemen-war-mosaic-732
Schwerpunkte / Key aspects
Kursiv: Siehe Teil 1 / In Italics: Look in part 1
Klassifizierung / Classification
Für wen das Thema ganz neu ist / Who is new to the subject
cp1 Am wichtigsten / Most important
cp1a Am wichtigsten: Coronavirus und Seuchen / Most important: Coronavirus and epidemics
cp2 Allgemein / General
cp2a Allgemein: Saudische Blockade / General: Saudi blockade
cp3 Humanitäre Lage / Humanitarian situation
cp4 Flüchtlinge / Refugees
cp5 Nordjemen und Huthis / Northern Yemen and Houthis
cp6 Separatisten und Hadi-Regierung im Südjemen / Separatists and Hadi government in Southern Yemen
cp7 UNO und Friedensgespräche / UN and peace talks
cp8 Saudi-Arabien / Saudi Arabia
cp9 USA
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
cp10 Großbritannien / Great Britain
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp15 Propaganda
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Schlacht um Marib / Theater of War: Marib battle
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
Klassifizierung / Classification
***
**
*
(Kein Stern / No star)
? = Keine Einschatzung / No rating
A = Aktuell / Current news
B = Hintergrund / Background
C = Chronik / Chronicle
D = Details
E = Wirtschaft / Economy
H = Humanitäre Fragen / Humanitarian questions
K = Krieg / War
P = Politik / Politics
pH = Pro-Houthi
pS = Pro-Saudi
T = Terrorismus / Terrorism
cp9 USA
Siehe / Look at cp1, cp9a
(A P)
'US is complicit': Activists protest Yemen blockade with hunger strike
Anti-war organisers are staging a hunger strike in Washington to bring awareness to the Saudi-led siege on Yemen
Films: https://twitter.com/LiberateYemen/status/1377381100985651202
https://twitter.com/LiberateYemen/status/1377391679431315459
https://twitter.com/YemenMatters_/status/1377879840079159296
(B P)
How a shadowy, hawkish new group tied to Iranian monarchists is gaining influence in Congress
A new organization with ties to Iranian monarchists is cultivating relationships with the Republican Party, holding a series of online events with newer GOP House members, strongly advocating against diplomacy with Iran, and pushing for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate so-called “Islamic Republic agents and lobbyists” in the United States.
Iranian Americans for Liberty was established last year alongside two related entities: a political action committee called Iranian Americans for the Constitution, and a super PAC called Iranian Americans for Peace. The group’s public-facing activities –– which include tweets, press releases, and a series of webinars hosted with Republican House candidates and incumbents –– take aim at both the Iranian government and Iranian Americans who favor engaging with the country, while echoing traditional hawkish talking points.
(* B K P)
AFTER THE APOCALYPSE: SECURITY IN SYRIA, YEMEN AND AFGHANISTAN
After the Apocalypse is a series of policy recommendations for the new Biden administration.
Yemen, by Annelle Sheline
Understand the US is perceived as a foreign aggressor, not a neutral arbiter, and allow that to guide further actions: The Biden administration needs to shift the mindset with which it approaches the war in Yemen: the US is not seen as a neutral arbiter, and so trying to behave as if it were will be ineffective. The US has supported Saudi Arabia’s efforts throughout the war, despite occasionally imposing some limits on US assistance. Yet the US maintains a close military partnership with Saudi Arabia and helps to enforce the blockade that is starving Yemen of food and fuel. The fact that special envoy Tim Lenderking found it “confusing” that the Houthis rebuffed his ceasefire proposal demonstrates that he does not understand that the US is seen as an aggressor and not a mediator.
Rescind UNSC 2216 and pressure for a new UN Security Resolution that acknowledges the concerns of all parties to the conflict: Many have expressed frustration with the failure of various UN representatives to ameliorate the situation in Yemen. This is partly the result of UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the framework that has guided UN efforts since 2015. The resolution imposes unrealistic demands on the Houthis, namely that they must give up their weapons and withdraw from the territory they have seized. Given the strength of their current position, they see no reason to comply. UNSC 2216 also authorizes the air and sea blockade. The resolution prevents the UN and the parties to the conflict from making any progress towards resolution.
Pressure Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade: Saudi Arabia justifies the blockade of Yemen with the need to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis. Yet the Houthis are acquiring weapons despite the blockade, which is therefore only starving Yemen of the food and fuel necessary for survival. Furthermore, the blockade reinforces the Houthi narrative that they are defending Yemen from foreign aggression. Lifting the blockade is necessary to prevent famine and restart Yemen’s economy. The US should pressure Saudi Arabia to lift it regardless, but overturning UNSC 2216 would also support this objective.
https://inkstickmedia.com/after-the-apocalypse-security-in-syria-yemen-and-afghanistan/
(B P)
Don’t let facts get in the way of your pursuit for regime change
And that’s how it works: Iran hawks have created their narrative for the path to regime change or war — in this case to make it as politically difficult as possible for Biden to ease sanctions and restore U.S. compliance with the JCPOA. And no amount of facts or empirical evidence demonstrating what a bad idea that is will get in the way.
(A P)
Disappointing start': US progressive Ro Khanna criticises Biden's Iran policy
Progressive US Congressman Ro Khana criticised the Biden administration's approach to Iran, decrying what he called a lack of "transformative imagination" in foreign policy as he urged the White House to lift sanctions on Tehran in order to revive the nuclear deal.
Speaking at a virtual event organised by groups advocating for the reimplementation of the nuclear agreement, Khanna said on Wednesday that the "status quo" of the maximum pressure campaign established by former President Donald Trump remains in place.
"Let's just speak plainly; it has been a disappointing start when it comes to Iran policy from the administration. They should have been already trying to get into this deal," Khanna said.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/biden-iran-policy-criticised-us-progressive-ro-khanna
and also https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/1377773750201036800
and
(A P)
Progressive Dems: Biden needs to move first on Iran nuclear deal
Two progressive Democratic members of Congress argued on a Wednesday panel that the United States needs to make the first move in returning to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D–Conn.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D–Calif.) called for a more proactive U.S. stance towards the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action at a video event hosted by the National Iranian American Council and several other pro-diplomacy groups.
“It was a disappointing start when it comes to Iran policy from this administration,” Khanna said. “We have to try to get back into the JCPOA by getting back into the JCPOA, not playing a game of chicken.”
He suggested that State Department Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley has had his hands tied by other factions in the administration.
(A P)
The United States thanks HM Sultan Haitham and our partners in @FMofOman for their strong statement today in support of @OSE_Yemen Griffiths and #USEnvoyYemen Lenderking’s efforts. We are committed to bring about a ceasefire and a political resolution to the conflict in Yemen.
https://twitter.com/StateDept_NEA/status/1376888019551186944
(* A K P)
US studies weapons sales, military training for Saudi Arabia amid Houthi assault: WSJ
The US is studying sales of defensive weapons and military exchange programs to support Saudi Arabia against Yemen’s Houthis aerial attacks on the Kingdom, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday citing Pentagon officials.
“Options on the table include sales of specific, defensive weapons, such as missile interceptors; expanded intelligence-sharing; additional training; and military-to-military exchange programs,” the report said.
“By far that’s worse than any other period since before the beginning of the conflict,” a US official told WSJ, referring to the war in Yemen.
The US officials praised Saudi Arabia’s defensive capabilities, with one saying: “The Saudis have been pretty effective at knocking this stuff down. They are doing better and better.”
Another official stressed the importance of sending a message to the Houthis: “The bottom line is that the Houthis need to know that we are standing with the Saudis and we will continue to support their right to self-defense.”
My comment: LOL. US policy really never changed.
(B P)
Sen. Gillibrand’s Efforts to Improve US Response to Yemen
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has been an advocate for improving the U.S. response to the ongoing crisis in Yemen. The conflict in Yemen has caused massive destruction, disruption and displacement. Sen. Gillibrand’s efforts for improving the U.S. response to the Yemen crisis show her commitment to helping the vulnerable.
Refusal of US Military Aid to Saudi Arabia
Sen. Gillibrand’s efforts for improving the U.S. response to the Yemen crisis include her refusal of U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia.
Accountability for Human Rights Violations
Sen. Gillibrand has also condemned and called for holding Saudi Arabia accountable for numerous human rights violations relating to the civil war in Yemen.
Support for Restoring Humanitarian Aid
Following the Trump administration’s decision to halt millions of dollars in humanitarian aid to Houthi-controlled areas amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Gillibrand’s efforts for improving the U.S. response to the Yemen crisis led her to advocate for restoring this aid.
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/gillibrands-efforts/
(A P)
Rally in Little Yemen for diversity visas
While President Biden ended the Muslim ban in January, many who were granted diversity visas during the Trump presidency are being left out in the cold.
This is leaving 2,000 Yemenis dreaming of coming to America stuck in the nation with the worst humanitarian crisis. This ruling affects many in Morris Park as within the neighborhood is Little Yemen, an area with a high Yemeni population and 500 Yemeni businesses.
Needless to say residents are angry and on March 24 held a rally led by the Yahay Obeid, the outreach coordinator for the Bronx Muslim Center.
(* B P)
Keep the Pressure on Saudi Arabia
This tempered approach is part of a much-needed overhaul of U.S.-Saudi relations. Biden is correctly trying to rebalance relations with Riyadh in a way that bolsters democratic values without compromising America's strategic interests.
Saudi Arabia's political and economic clout across the Middle East make it a necessary ally—but a difficult one, given the kingdom's appalling human rights record at home and abroad.
But the situation isn't all bleak. Focused pressure from U.S. officials is starting to yield results.
Reactive sanctions can prove a valuable tool if U.S. leaders apply them strategically.
The Biden administration can also apply pressure by restricting weapons sales to the kingdom.
Sanctions and bans on weapons sales won't solve all our bilateral challenges. If the Biden administration wants to spur real reforms, it'll need to focus on a long-term engagement strategy built on the two countries' shared needs.
Both countries have a strong interest in combating violent religious extremism. Yet Saudi-funded schools and government media continue to perpetuate the idea that Wahhabi Islam is under attack by Western countries.
To counter that notion, U.S. officials could hold publicly-broadcast meetings with prominent religious leaders within and outside the Saudi government. In fact, the administration could even demand these events be televised, so ordinary citizens can see Americans in a more positive light. That would help rob religious extremists of a recruitment tool that enables them to radicalize young Saudis.
The Biden administration can also continue important trust-building measures. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan promised a "no surprises" policy, meaning U.S. officials will communicate with their Saudi counterparts before high-impact steps.
The United States can help the House of Saud help itself—by adopting a realistic yet "tough love" approach that encourages regional stability, human rights and the rule of law. So far, the White House is on the right track.
https://www.newsweek.com/keep-pressure-saudi-arabia-opinion-1579898
(* B K P)
US, Allies Drop 46 Bombs Per Day for 20 Years, New CODEPINK Research Reveals
The United States has been at war for nearly every year of its existence as an independent nation, fighting in 227 years of its 244-year history.
The United States and its allies have dropped at least 326,000 bombs and missiles on countries in the greater Middle East/ North Africa region since 2001. That is the conclusion of new research by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies of anti-war group CODEPINK.
Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen are the countries that have felt the worst of the violence, but Lebanon, Libya, Pakistan, Palestine and Somalia have also been targeted. The total amounts to an average of 46 bombs dropped per day over the last 20 years.
CODEPINK’s numbers are based primarily on official U.S. military releases, as well as data from the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the Yemen Data Project, and the New America Foundation. As striking as the figure of 326,000 is, it is an underestimate, as the Trump administration ceased publishing figures of its bombing campaigns in 2020, meaning there is no data for Iraq, Syria or Afghanistan for either of the previous two years. Also not counted are bombs or missiles used in helicopter strikes, AC-130 gunship attacks, strafing runs from U.S. bombers, or any counterinsurgency or counter-terrorism operations in other parts of the world.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/us-drops-46-bombs-per-day-20-years-middle-east/275943/
and also https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/03/04/trump-bidens-secret-bombing-wars
(* B P)
The United States Is the Last Check on MBS’s Power
Washington Should Rein In, Not Isolate, the Saudi Prince
Human rights defenders, journalists, and even some prominent former U.S. officials have criticized Biden for not sanctioning MBS directly. Such arguments are largely couched in terms of the need to sanction human rights abusers (with journalists particularly incensed that Biden gave the killer of one of their own a pass). But some critics have further implied that Biden has the power to force King Salman and the rest of the Saudi royal family to replace MBS with a new leader. The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof slammed Biden for not making clear that “the kingdom is better off with a new crown prince.” And the Brookings Institution senior fellow Bruce Riedel, a seasoned Saudi watcher who spent decades in U.S. government positions dealing with the Middle East, told The Guardian that “if the objective of the United States is a stable, moderate Saudi Arabia that is stable internally and not a source of unrest in the region, then that Saudi Arabia has no place for Mohammed bin Salman.”
What these critics miss is that MBS is now an entrenched and most likely immovable pillar of the Saudi decision-making structure. With the support of his father, King Salman, MBS has ruthlessly and effectively consolidated power in his own hands, leaving the United States as one of the few, if not the only, effective checks on his authority.
Instead of cultivating consensus, King Salman concentrated power in the hands of MBS, sidelining the remaining princes of his own generation and those in the next generation who could rival his favorite son.
These profound changes to the power structure within the Saudi ruling family have removed the constraints that previously rendered Saudi policymaking cautious, predictable, and risk averse. MBS is anything but.
But the crown prince’s combination of power and mercurial will has also led to reckless and counterproductive decisions.
Despite these own goals, there is no indication that other members of the ruling family are aligning against MBS. Plenty of older princes are reportedly unhappy with their ruthless younger cousin. But it is not clear that they have the means or the stomach for a direct confrontation with the man who controls all the guns and money in the kingdom.
A LAST CHECK ON POWER
Having consolidated almost total control of the Saudi government and kept familial opposition at bay, MBS faces only one practical check on his freedom of action: the United States. MBS’s ambitious plans for economic change depend on international investment, with American investors taking a leading role. He cannot be a player in the world financial system if Washington stands against him. The United States is still Saudi Arabia’s most important international partner and ultimate security guarantor. No Saudi ruler wants to put that relationship at risk.
The Biden administration understandably came to office with the intention of recalibrating relations with Saudi Arabia and erecting some guardrails to constrain MBS’s behavior.
But the Biden administration stopped short of sanctioning MBS personally for his role in Khashoggi’s murder. It correctly determined that if it was going to have any influence on Saudi decision-making, it could not make the crown prince persona non grata—much less force the Saudi royal family to replace him.
Any effort to turf MBS out of his central position in the current Saudi system would amount to something very close to regime change, which has not worked out well for the United States in the Middle East.
The Biden administration has chosen the wiser path, as distasteful as it might be. Its challenge now will be to communicate clearly what it will and will not tolerate from MBS.
Isolating MBS might provide some short-term emotional satisfaction, but for an administration looking to contain Middle East crises and avoid new conflicts, dealing with Saudi Arabia is a necessity. And that means dealing with MBS – by F. Gregory Gause III
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2021-03-30/united-states-last-check-mbss-power
My comment: ???? And now??
(A P)
Film: Yemeni-American activists to start a #HungerStrike4Yemen to end the unjust blockade imposed by the whole international community
https://www.facebook.com/LivingInYemenOnTheEdge/posts/3913506498702351
(* B K P)
Pan’s Labyrinth
Like any good covert operator the spacecraft has several monikers; USA-207, P360 and PAN, with the last being the most enigmatic, an acronym for Palladium at Night. PAN-1, as the satellite will henceforth be called, zoomed into the heavens atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 8 September 2009.
PAN-1 uses Lockheed Martin’s A-2100 communications satellite bus. The satellite is in a geostationary orbit where it moves at the same speed as the Earth, around 863 knots (1,600 kilometres per hour). This allows the satellite to loiter over the same area of interest. Initially PAN-1 entered a geostationary orbit over Africa. Satellite watchers noted that the craft was positioned between the meridians of 33 degrees east and 53 degrees east; a position that would cover nearly all the Arabian peninsula and a wide swathe of east Africa, including trouble-spots like Somalia, and the western Indian Ocean. It would be an understatement to say that such areas were of interest to the US intelligence community. Yet the mission of PAN-1 appeared to be slightly more nuanced than simply hovering above some of the world’s war zones and listening to the spectrum for the communications traffic from High Value Individuals (HVIs), Pentagon-speak for bad guys. Instead, it appears that the PAN-1 was to hoover up so-called FORNSAT (Foreign Satellite) communications traffic not from Earth but from other satellites, according to redacted documents freely available relating to communications intelligence sharing between the ‘Five Eyes’ partners of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The logic behind PAN-1’s mission was fiendishly simple: develop a spacecraft which can be moved in close proximity to a standard commercial communications satellite and, for all intents and purposes, ‘overhear’ the traffic that they are receiving.
Targeted Assassinations
There is an interesting potential correlation between the frequency of attacks performed by US Air Force (USAF) and US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAV) and conventional airstrikes against targets in Yemen since the PAN-1’s launch in 2009. Publicly available figures note that USAF and CIA UCAV attacks, most probably using General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper/Predator-B aircraft, increased in frequency between 2010 (one recorded attack) to 2012 (50 recorded attacks). Between 2013 and 2019 there was an average of 14 attacks annually.
https://armadainternational.com/2021/03/pans-labyrinth
cp9a USA-Iran Krise: Spannungen am Golf / US-Iran crisis: Tensions at the Gulf
Siehe / Look at cp9
(B P)
Good thing there is a long paper trail of FDD acknowledging that terrorism sanctions they lobbied for on Iran were duplicative & aimed at frustrating Biden’s policy for JCPOA return, not any legitimate foreign policy goal (text in image)
https://twitter.com/jabdi/status/1378026576051322883
(* B P)
Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of #Iran, is starting his talk and Q&A on Clubhouse right now
Salehi says "thankfully" we are moving past the "childish debate of who goes first" on a JCPOA return. He said the "deadlock" is being broken. He says we must wait to see how technical talks will proceed next week.
Salehi is now defending what he says is Iran's need for nuclear energy based on economic needs & diversifying its "energy basket"
Salehi says the cost Iran has paid for its nuclear program is really derived from trying to be independent from the West/American hegemony. He says it would have happened even without the nuclear program.
Salehi says if the US wants to "unlock" the lock it faces in the region, Iran is the "golden key." He says America must recognize Iran's national interests. He says he thinks America is reaching this conclusion & changing its approach to Iran.
https://twitter.com/SinaToossi/status/1378025015917080580
(* A P)
Iran to Hold No Talks with US Before Lifting of Sanctions
An informed source has told Press TV that Iran will hold no negotiations with the US — neither directly nor indirectly — before the lifting of all the sanctions that Washington imposed on the Islamic Republic after its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement.
Press TV on Friday contacted a senior official familiar with the situation surrounding the Iran deal following a virtual meeting of the signatories to the agreement, formally named the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), over the future of the accord.
The interviewed followed Press TV’s exclusive report on the virtual meeting, which cited another informed source.
The source said, “Just like America left the JCPOA and imposed the bans on Iran without any negotiations, it must now lift the sanctions sans negotiations.”
and
(* A P)
First step:’ US, Iran to begin indirect nuclear-limit talks
The United States and Iran said Friday they will begin indirect negotiations with intermediaries next week to try to get both countries back into compliance with an accord limiting Iran’s nuclear program, nearly three years after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal.
The announcement marks one of the first bits of tangible progress in efforts to return both nations to terms of the 2015 accord, which bound Iran to restrictions in return for relief from U.S. and international sanctions.
Administration officials played down expectations for next week’s talks. State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the resumption of negotiations, scheduled for Tuesday in Vienna, “a healthy step forward.” But Price added, “These remain early days, and we don’t anticipate an immediate breakthrough as there will be difficult discussions ahead.”
“This is a first step,” Biden Iran envoy Rob Malley tweeted. He said diplomats were now “on the right path.”
Agreement on the start of indirect talks came after the European Union helped broker a virtual meeting of officials from Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran, all of which have remained in the accord, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Price said next week’s talks will be structured around working groups that the European Union was forming with the remaining participants in the accord, including Iran.
“The primary issues that will be discussed are the nuclear steps that Iran would need to take in order to return to compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, and the sanctions relief steps that the United States would need to take in order to return to compliance as well,” Price said.
The United States, like Iran, said it did not anticipate direct talks between the two nations now. Price said the United States remains open to that idea, however.
In a tweet, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the aim of the Vienna session would be to “rapidly finalize sanction-lifting & nuclear measures for choreographed removal of all sanctions, followed by Iran ceasing remedial measures.”
Iranian state television quoted Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s nuclear negotiator at the virtual meeting, as saying during Friday’s discussions that any “return by the U.S. to the nuclear deal does not require any negotiation and the path is quite clear.”
“The U.S. can return to the deal and stop breaching the law in the same way it withdrew from the deal and imposed illegal sanctions on Iran,” Araghchi was quoted as as saying.
https://apnews.com/article/us-iran-indirect-talks-nuclear-program-a6558ac21b600cb7a3c8542f18a7aece
and
(* B P)
US-Iran meeting in Vienna signals new hope for JCPOA
Given the deadlock and the disappointing pace of movement in the first weeks of Biden’s term, today’s news that the United States will be participating in next week’s meeting in Vienna between Iran and global partners towards reviving the JCPOA is more than welcome.
Here is why: Privately, White House officials admit that they fumbled the Iran file early on (my words, not theirs). But the message we’re hearing now is that things have changed, and Washington is now moving full speed toward a JCPOA return. We are now seeing the first signs vindicating this narrative.
Over the past weeks, however, mistrust between the two sides has grown
For the last few weeks, the two sides have indirectly exchanged proposals on how to break the deadlock. The U.S. proposals that have been mentioned in the media have all been lowballing the Iranians, which appears to have made matters worse.
So why the breakthrough now? I suspect Washington has wisely, behind the scenes, put forward a more robust proposal. No more lowballs. I doubt that when Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov spoke of “positive movements” on the U.S. side, he was referring to the lowball proposals.
Nor would Iran — given its political circumstances — likely agree to this meeting next week unless something more robust was on the table. Moreover, U.S. officials have told the New York Times that they will “not seek to retain some sanctions for leverage” a la Trump.
But this is just the beginning of the process. As the Russian ambassador in Vienna said, “The impression is that we are on the right track but the way ahead will not be easy and will require intensive efforts.”
The question is what the choreography will look like now. The U.S. side prefers several coordinated steps that build to the final goal of full compliance-for-compliance. The Iranians prefer a quick, one-step proc
The best thing is to get a quick choreography that binds both sides to full compliance, even though the steps may simply be binding decisions to do things within the next few weeks. The actual steps may be taken later, but the binding decision to take them will be made now.
That way, the JCPOA will be resurrected and protected before the Iranian elections — and not subject to the outcome of the elections. This clearly lies in the national interest of the United States — as JoeBiden himself has made clear numerous times
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/2021/04/02/us-iran-meeting-in-vienna-signals-new-hope-for-jcpoa/
(B P)
Film: Told @dwnews that the who-goes-first dilemma between the US & Iran can be resolved by both taking binding decisions AT THE SAME TIME on the choreography of steps. The steps can be implemented at different times, but the decision to take those steps is taken simultaneously
https://twitter.com/tparsi/status/1378096333605720065
(A P)
EU to sanction Iran militia, police, three entities over 2019 protests: Diplomats
The European Union will target eight Iranian militia and police commanders and three state entities with sanctions next week over a deadly crackdown in November 2019 by Iranian authorities, three diplomats said on Wednesday.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1835216/middle-east
(* B K P)
WSJ: Biden ordnet teilweisen Abzug von Truppen und Ausrüstungen aus Nahem Osten an
Joe Biden hat einem Bericht zufolge im Rahmen der Überprüfung der Beziehungen Washingtons zu Riad den Abzug eines Teils der US-Soldaten aus dem Nahen Osten, die zur Unterstützung Saudi-Arabiens dorthin geschickt worden waren, angeordnet.
Dies berichtete das Wall Street Journal, WSJ, am Donnerstag und schrieb, dass diese militärischen Veränderungen zu einer Zeit angeordnet werden, in der Saudi-Arabien aufgrund der Raketen- und Drohnenangriffe aus dem Jemen militärische Unterstützung der USA notwendig hat.
Weiter hieß es, die USA hätten mindestens 3 Patriot-Raketenabwehrsysteme aus dem Gebiet des Persischen Golfes entfernt, darunter eines von der Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi-Arabien, die in den letzten Jahren zum Schutz der amerikanischen Streitkräfte eingerichtet worden war.
Im Wall Street Journal-Bericht hieß es außerdem, dass unter anderem auch ein Flugzeugträger -dessen Name nicht genannt wurde - und Überwachungssysteme aus dem Nahen Osten abgezogen würden, um den militärischen Bedarf in anderen Teilen der Welt zu decken.
(* B K P)
Biden Trimming Forces Sent to Mideast to Help Saudi Arabia
Move comes as part of recalibration with Riyadh, but U.S. also seeking ways to shield Saudi Arabia from airborne attacks
President Biden has directed the Pentagon to begin removing some military capabilities and forces from the Gulf region in the first steps of an effort to realign the U.S. global military footprint away from the Mideast, changes that come as Saudi Arabia endures rocket and drone attacks from inside Yemen and Iraq.
In moves that haven’t been previously reported, the U.S. has removed at least three Patriot antimissile batteries from the Gulf region, including one from Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, that had been put in place in recent years to help protect American forces.
Other capabilities, including an aircraft carrier and surveillance systems, are being diverted from the Middle East to answer military needs elsewhere around the globe, according to U.S. officials. Additional reductions are under consideration, officials said.
But administration officials also have said they don’t want to destroy the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and have said they will seek ways to help Riyadh defend against rocket and missile attacks from militant fighters.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-trimming-forces-sent-to-mideast-to-help-saudi-arabia-11617279687
and also https://news.am/eng/news/636873.html
and
(* B K P)
Is Biden signaling more than just a ‘routine’ force reduction in Saudi Arabia?
Some commentators interpreted the move as routine.
Yet Trump was the first president to reintroduce U.S. troops to Saudi Arabia in 2019 after they were removed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Biden may decide to return to a policy that views U.S. troops in the land of the two holy mosques as unnecessarily provocative.
In contrast, the Biden administration seems to be finally overturning Trump’s approach to Iran.
This news, as well as the reduction of U.S. military capacity in Saudi Arabia as well as the region in general, are sure to alarm Gulf leaders, who welcomed Trump’s weapons sales and aggression towards Iran.
In general, as Biden tries to finally shift the U.S. out of the Middle East, actors in the region will have to base their decisions on their own willingness to absorb the costs of aggression, rather than relying on the U.S. to do so for them. Arguably, if an earlier U.S. president had done so sooner, Saudi Arabia might have decided not to launch its ill-conceived war on Yemen, preserving itself from both Houthi attacks and an enhanced Iranian presence on its southern border.
(* B P)
Military force would hasten, not prevent, an Iranian nuclear weapon
Continued failure to restore full U.S. and Iranian compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, risks outbreak of U.S.-Iranian warfare in ways that Joe Cirincione partly reviewed in these pages.
But the nuclear issue itself presents a more direct route to war, as some of the history that preceded the JCPOA suggests. One of the motivations for Barack Obama to push ahead with negotiation of what would become the JCPOA — despite all the challenges and roadblocks that had to be surmounted — was to ward off warfare that would begin with a threatened Israeli attack on Iran.
The more that continued non-compliance with the JCPOA leads to continued expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, the greater will be the threat of Israel initiating such a war.
The notion of a military attack to prevent development of an Iranian nuclear weapon is not confined to Israel. The notion has had favor among some foreign policy strategists in the United States, as well as among some whose influence on U.S. policy has been more a matter of money than of strategic sophistication. In the United States as well as in Israel, one can expect the notion to win renewed favor the more that the Iranian nuclear program expands without the restrictions of the JCPOA.
Even looking beyond the political and moral enormity of conducting an act of aggression to try to preclude the mere possibility of a country acquiring a weapon that several other countries (including in the Middle East) already have, the notion always has had major strategic flaws. One of its underlying assumptions has been that after being subjected to such an attack, a cowed Iran would be deterred from striking back by the possibility of being hit with an even worse attack. That assumption — of a coolly restrained and rationally deterred Tehran — contradicts the mad mullah image that has been at the heart of most alarms about why a nuclear-armed Iran cannot be tolerated.
But look beyond those serious strategic flaws and consider whether such an attack would even make an Iranian nuclear weapon less rather than more likely.
An armed attack on its territory would be the sort of event most likely to strengthen whatever voices inside the Iranian regime argue that Iran needs nuclear weapons after all.
(* B P)
Containing Iran and drawing the wrong lessons from the Cold War
When it comes to Iran, there is a persistent belief in Washington that the Cold War experience in confronting the Soviet Union is relevant to dealing with the Islamic Republic. Yet the pundits and policymakers insist on drawing the wrong lessons from that experience.
The latest iteration of this theme is found Karim Sadjadpour’s recent article in The Atlantic, conspicuously titled “How to Win the Cold War with Iran.” In it, Sadjadpour, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, promotes “containment” as a long-term strategy to deal with Iran, similar to the one devised by the American diplomat George Kennan regarding the Soviet Union in 1946.
What Sadjadpour offers, however, amounts to no more than repackaging of the old “dual containment” of Iran and (then Saddam Hussein-led) Iraq dating back to the Clinton presidency. With higher or lower intensity, Washington has pursued that policy ever since, with the JCPOA providing only a brief interlude, and then confined only to the nuclear issue. Dual containment, however, failed to achieve its more general objective of fundamentally changing the nature of the Iranian regime, or the regime itself. Essentially, Sadjadpour proposes to pursue the same, decades-long strategy hoping for a different result.
Enlisting the U.S. Cold War experience as a guide in this effort is not helpful.
It is therefore disingenuous for Sadjadpour to claim that the JCPOA failed to soften the Islamic Republic’s anti-American posture: like previous efforts, the attempts at engagements were simply not given chance to consolidate themselves, provide economic dividends to Iran, develop new dynamics in U.S.–Iran relations and eventually set the country on a more liberal trajectory. It was the failure of the JCPOA — due to an extreme form of the containment policy under President Trump — that vindicated the Iranian hardliners’ dim view of the United States and politically undermined the moderates. A true lesson of the Cold War would have been to do the exact opposite: empower the moderates by giving arguments in favor of engagement with the United States.
More than a viable blueprint for a successful U.S. strategy on Iran, Sadjadpour’s advice is just another example of a conventionally hawkish analysis, based on a selective and ideological reading of the Cold War and its lessons.
(* B P)
AIPAC’s failure gives Biden a lane for Iran deal, if he has the spine
Last week 43 hawkish senators sent a letter to the White House pushed by the Israel lobby group AIPAC calling on President Biden not to return to the Iran nuclear deal, as he promised, without addressing Iran’s “destabilizing activities” in the region.
The great news is that only 43 senators signed the letter, including 14 Democrats, one of them Israel lobby tool Bob Menendez.
Foundation for Middle East Peace says the letter was a key part of AIPAC’s lobbying agenda this spring, and an embarrassment.
[The] letter has been circulating since at least March 12, and was the subject of intense lobbying starting last week with AIPAC’s virtual lobby extravaganza. The fact that only 43 senators signed on to the letter, notwithstanding this lobbying, makes this a notably unsuccessful letter, compared to other AIPAC-backed efforts.
The headline at Responsible Statecraft was, “Hawkish Iran letter falls flat in the Senate.”
Sina Toossi of the National Iranian American Council says that the letter was an effort to “hamstring” Biden and it failed in part due to the lobbying against the letter by his organization and others, such as Win Without War and J Street, the Democratic Party Israel lobby group. Toossi says there is today a broad consensus inside the Democratic Party to return to the Iran deal; and in fact the vague language of this letter does not rule out a return by the U.S. to the deal.
The question remains, as we’ve said before here, whether Biden has the gumption to take on the Israel lobby threats to Iran and return to a deal. Because Israel is the only country in the world actively pushing the U.S. against the deal. And so far Biden has been very disappointing.
The failure of AIPAC’s Senate letter suggests that Biden actually has all the political capital he needs to push for a return to the Iran deal right now. And to lift sanctions as he urged Trump to do just a year ago.
Joseph Cirincione compares Iran to the Vietnam War for Lyndon Johnson, it destroyed his presidency. B
“The best way forward would have been to immediately come back to the [nuclear pact] with an executive order, and they didn’t do it,” Gérard Araud, the former French ambassador to the United States, said in Foreign Policy. “The advice of the Europeans to the Americans was do it quickly and immediately, because all the signals they had from the Iranian side was as soon as the Americans come back, we will come back.”
There is clearly no American interest in not being in the deal.
https://mondoweiss.net/2021/03/aipacs-failure-gives-biden-a-lane-for-iran-deal-if-he-has-the-spine/
My comment: Compare this to the “Russiagate” conspiracy theory.
(* A P)
China and Iran: A natural anti-imperialist alliance
That is American exceptionalism. The US is a country whose sense of diplomacy deems it appropriate to openly criticize other nations. And because of this self-bestowed exceptionalism, it need not substantiate any criticisms it makes, and, of course, no such accusations could be leveled against the US.
However, soon after Donald Trump won the electoral college vote to become the US president, the days of the US abiding by the JCPOA were numbered. The US State Department said that the JCPOA “is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document.”
Apparently, US and international definitions on what constitutes a treaty differ. Since the JCPOA had not received the consent of the US Senate, as per domestic US law, it was not considered a treaty. Another instance of US exceptionalism — how the US legally separates itself from the international sphere.
On 8 May 2018, the US pulled out from the Iran nuclear deal.
China stood steadfast with the JCPOA.
(B P)
A growing challenge for Iraq: Iran-aligned Shiite militias
A fourth round of so-called strategic Iraq-U.S. talks is scheduled for next week after the Iraqi government requested it, partly in response to pressure from Shiite political factions and militias loyal to Iran that have lobbied for the remaining U.S. troops to leave Iraq.
The talks, which began in June under the Trump administration, would be the first under President Joe Biden. On the agenda is an array of issues, including the presence of U.S. combat forces in the country and the issue of Iraqi militias acting outside of state authority. The discussions are meant to shape the future of the U.S.-Iraq relationship, a senior U.S. official recently said.
It is a tightrope for al-Kadhimi, who has said that bringing armed groups under state control is a goal of his administration but finds himself increasingly helpless in reining in the groups. U.S. officials have said Washington will use the meetings to clarify that U.S. forces remain in Iraq for the sole purpose of ensuring the Islamic State group “cannot reconstitute” itself — a signal that the U.S. seeks to keep the 2,500 remaining American soldiers in Iraq.
https://apnews.com/article/iran-middle-east-baghdad-tehran-iraq-ebcc325e288b8dad431c713283eab70c
My comment: From an US point of view. Keep in mind, the Iraqi parliament requested that all US troops should leave the country. The US simply ignores it.
(A P)
Sign the petition to President Biden: Restore the Iran Deal
Returning to the Iran deal is a necessary requirement for effective, broader diplomacy with Iran. The United States, along with people worldwide, deserve a long-term diplomatic approach to Iran and the wider region that minimizes human suffering and fosters lasting peace.
The U.S. has yet to reenter the agreement and this historic diplomatic opportunity is at risk of being lost. President Biden must ignore attacks from warhawks and take bold steps to jumpstart diplomacy with Iran.
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-to-president-biden-restore-the-iran-deal
(* B P)
U.S. struggling to engage with Iran over nuclear deal
Why it matters: Putting Iran’s nuclear program “back in the box” is one of the Biden administration’s top foreign policy priorities, but the sides have yet to hold direct talks.
President Biden says he's willing to lift sanctions and return to the 2015 nuclear deal if Iran returns to full compliance, by rolling back the nuclear acceleration it has undertaken since Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.
Behind the scenes: The Iranians have rejected several U.S. proposals to meet formally or even informally.
The U.S. officials tell me all of their communications with Tehran are coming indirectly, through the E3 (France, the U.K. and Germany), Russia, China or the EU.
This takes more time and has led to several misunderstandings, the U.S. officials say.
(* B P)
There's (almost) always a tweet. Here are just a few reasons why @POTUS and the Biden administration must #ReSealtheDeal (text in image)
https://twitter.com/NIACouncil/status/1376942116841136130
(* B P)
Biden wants to be Harry Truman but may end up like Lyndon Johnson
President Joe Biden and most of his senior aides view Iran as a distraction from their agenda. They are not wrong. There are six solid reasons why Biden should go slow on diplomacy with Iran. And one very good reason why he cannot.
Fourth, Biden and his centrist team are implementing a strategy favored by establishment Democrats who fear the party suffers when it takes too progressive a stance on foreign policy.
Finally, the majority of the Biden team has bought into the idea that keeping the sanctions Donald Trump levied on Iran and delaying new talks gives them “leverage.” This will help rebuff Iranian demands and perhaps get concessions when they eventually go back to the negotiating table. They also think time is on their side.
In sum, all the incentives within the Biden administration are to wait on Iran.
The problem is, they cannot wait. Iran is the foreign policy crisis most likely to explode into war. If the diplomatic window closes and war erupts, it will sink Biden’s entire domestic agenda and his presidency with it.
Rather than look to Truman or Roosevelt, the more relevant president is Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Biden does not want to wage war, but the lack of a Biden initiative on Iran creates a vacuum that invites conflict. The longer that vacuum exists, the stronger forces grow opposed to U.S.-Iranian reconciliation and “the more the Iranians come to the conclusion that the U.S. is not willing to relieve sanctions,” warns Vali Nasr of the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs. Every week, it becomes harder to get a deal, not easier.
Without a deal restricting the Iranian program, the choices become, as they were in 2013, to watch Iran march closer to the ability to build a bomb or to go to war to stop it. War with Iran would be a massive undertaking, dwarfing the wars with Iraq and Afghanistan, creating global instability and likely dooming the Biden-Harris administration.
The war would not necessarily start by choice. A half dozen sparks could ignite the blaze.
Biden blew it. The real risk avoidance move would have been to rejoin the agreement in January. If he had, Iran would not be an issue now. Iran would be back in compliance with the agreements, its stocks of uranium gas depleted, its excess centrifuges disassembled, full inspections restored.
Talks might have begun on a follow-on “longer and stronger” agreement. Diplomats would have been exploring how to negotiate regional restraints on missiles and militias.
Joe Biden can be a great president. But not if he is so afraid of attacks from the right that he repeats LBJ’s blunder and stumbles into a war we cannot win and never need fight – by Joe Cirincione
(* B P)
Joe Biden Is Killing the Iran Nuclear Deal
Joe Biden harshly criticized Donald Trump for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal during the presidential campaign. But two months into his administration, Biden has done absolutely nothing to revive the landmark deal — and his inaction might have already killed it.
A recap may be in order. The Obama administration, working with a group of five other nations known as the P5+1 — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Germany — negotiated the JCPOA to contain Iran’s nuclear program. In exchange for broad sanctions relief, the Iranian government agreed to abide by strict limits on uranium enrichment and to permit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to implement one of the most intrusive inspection programs ever devised.
The JCPOA worked — or, at least, from the Obama administration’s perspective.
With sanctions reimposed, the Iranians took the only remedy they had under the 2015 pact. Built into the deal’s terms was an allowance that if one party violated its obligations, other parties were permitted to do the same. The intent was to allow the United States and other P5+1 members to reinstate sanctions should Iran resume prohibited nuclear activity or interfere with sanctions. But the principle applied in both directions, and so Iran began ramping up its uranium enrichment program beyond JCPOA limits. More recently, it has withdrawn from the IAEA’s “Additional Protocol,” the legal basis for that intrusive inspections program.
The repercussions of the JCPOA’s collapse radiated outward, affecting all aspects of the US-Iran relationship. Restored US sanctions brutalized the Iranian people, reducing their access to food and — critically, amid the COVID-19 pandemic — adequate health care.
Enter Joe Biden, Obama’s former vice president and by all appearances a stalwart JCPOA supporter. In a CNN op-ed during last year’s presidential campaign, Biden lambasted Trump for his Iran policy, which Biden termed a “dangerous failure.” He promised to “offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy” that included a return to the JCPOA. For anyone frustrated by the Trump administration’s efforts to forestall diplomacy with Iran, these remarks were welcome.
In hindsight, though, it seems the seeds of our current stalemate were already apparent. In that same CNN piece, Biden wrote that “if Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations. With our allies, we will work to strengthen and extend the nuclear deal’s provisions, while also addressing other issues of concern.” In other words, it did matter who went first, and Biden would also insist on immediate negotiations to expand the JCPOA.
The problem with Biden’s position — as laid out in the CNN piece and as pursued by his administration thus far — is that it fails completely to understand Iran’s position. It was the United States that unilaterally violated the JCPOA in 2018. Every subsequent breach by Iran has been a response to the United States’ decision — and has even arguably been permitted under the JCPOA’s terms. To insist that the United States will only rejoin the JCPOA “if Iran returns to strict compliance” is to demand that Iran not only appease the party that destroyed the agreement in the first place, but that it trust the United States to revive the agreement when it has shown that it cannot be trusted.
Equally insulting is the notion that the United States is already looking ahead to a newer, bigger deal with Iran when it’s done nothing to make Iranian officials trust that such a pact would be honored in the long term. Why would Iran be willing to consider anything more than a simple return to the JCPOA without the United States taking the first step to fix what it broke?
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/03/iran-nuclear-deal-biden-administration-jcpoa
cp10 Great Britain / Großbritannien
Siehe / Look at cp1
cp11 Deutschland / Germany
(* B P)
Die Irrlichterei der deutschen Saudi-Arabien-Politik
Deutschland inszeniert sich als führender Sanktionierer Saudi-Arabiens. Die Realität sieht anders aus: Im Jemen-Konflikt agiert die Regierung planlos. Eine politische Naivität, die an Franz Beckenbauer erinnert, schreibt Grünen-Politiker Omid Nouripour.
Hinzu kommen, was die Golfregion angeht, große Wissenslücken und eine teils befremdliche Realitätswahrnehmung, die man in der jüngsten Plenardebatte zum Jemen beobachten konnte. So stört sich die Union daran, wenn man Saudi-Arabien genauso viel Schuld an der katastrophalen Lage im Jemen zuweist wie dem Iran. Unionsabgeordnete führen tatsächlich aus, dass Riad hier weniger Schuld treffe, weil Saudi-Arabien ja auf Einladung der international anerkannten Regierung agiere.
Völkerrechtsbruch liegt aber nicht nur vor, wenn eine illegitime Einmischung à la Iran gegeben ist, sondern auch, wenn die Verhältnismäßigkeit der Kriegsführung nicht gewahrt wird. Und die jahrelangen systematischen Bombardements ziviler Einrichtungen durch Saudi-Arabien kann man nicht anders nennen als unverhältnismäßig. Es ist also schlicht zynisch, so auf die laut Uno schlimmste derzeitige humanitäre Katastrophe weltweit zu blicken – nach dem Motto: „Du bist international anerkannt, deshalb sind deine Kriegsverbrechen weniger schlimm.“
Aber genau deshalb braucht es Äquidistanz zu beiden Parteien und keine Parteinahme für die einen oder für die anderen Kriegsverbrecher. Dies zurückzuweisen, ist eine analytische Irrlichterei, die uns einer Lösung keinen Schritt näherbringt und die auch zeigt, dass einige in der Bundesregierung noch immer nicht verstanden haben, was im Jemen eigentlich passiert.
Ein weiteres Beispiel ist die Einschätzung der Rolle der VAE im Jemen. Diese grenzenlose Naivität tut fast schon weh: Der außenpolitische Sprecher der größten Regierungsfraktion reist in ein autoritär regiertes Land, lässt sich dort sagen, alles sei gut, und kommt glücklich zurück. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob er zusammen mit Franz Beckenbauer unterwegs war, der einmal auf die Frage nach Zwangsarbeit beim Stadionbau in Katar geantwortet hat: „Ich habe keine Sklaven gesehen.“
cp12 Andere Länder / Other countries
Siehe / Look at cp1 (Emirates; Turkey)
(* B P)
Fashla: The Politics of Image-Making in the Gulf
Fashla, or fisheela, is one of a number of Arabic words with many culturally grounded meanings embedded into it. But in its most basic sense, fashla is ‘embarrassment’. It is one of those intimidating terms inherently ingrained in (Arab) Gulf cultures that are excessively concerned with the national image – the right image – as a collective. Therefore, fashla always has an audience; abstract people.
Today, fashla has transcended its original sociocultural context and has become relevant in politics. Gulf countries’ interest in improving their image abroad has increased state expectations of their citizens and subsequently emphasised citizens’ role as image-makers. Diversifying the economy through attracting foreign investment in what is becoming an economically competitive region is one of the main motivations for this new-found interest in image-making. Additionally, social media has allowed citizens to engage in personal image-making that the state necessarily sees as either conflicting or compliant with the national image at large as Gulf citizens are not afforded the choice to separate their identity from that of the state.
Hostage to an extreme culture of performative propriety, Khaleejis are frequently reminded that they are ‘ambassadors’ of their countries – as two articles have stiffly put it, here and here – and must therefore maintain an image of social respectability and decorum.
The audience for the aforementioned dicta is, of course, the ‘foreigner’.
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mec/2021/04/01/fashla-the-politics-of-image-making-in-the-gulf/
(A P)
Yemen: A die-in in Paris denounces France’s silent complicity in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis
(A P)
[Sanaa gov.] Fisheries statement on Somali authorities jailing, trial of 31 Yemeni fishermen
The Ministry of Fisheries has expressed its deep regret over the imprisonment and trial of 31 Yemeni fishermen by the Somali authorities.
The ministry said in a statement issued on Tuesday by Saba that it has followed with interest the case of Somali authorities in Puntland imprisoning and prosecuting 31 Yemeni fishermen, confiscating their boats, and forcing them to pay fines of more than $700 per fisherman.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134949.htm
(* B P)
What UAE’s growing presence in Somaliland means for its Horn of Africa strategy
The UAE reorients its strategy from one of military intervention to economic investment and power.
Abdullah Muhammad al-Naqbi was sworn in on March 17 as director of the United Arab Emirates Trade Office in Somaliland.
Naqbi’s appointment was greeted with sharply divided reactions in Somalia and Somaliland.
These domestic polarizations are likely to extend to the geopolitical arena. Due to Farmaajo’s neutral response to the 2017 Qatar blockade and Abu Dhabi’s cancellation of aid and military cooperation programs in Somalia in May 2018, the UAE is locked in a struggle with Turkey and Qatar for geopolitical influence. The expansion of Emirati investments in Berbera strengthens the UAE’s ability to compete with Qatar’s Hobyo seaport project and the Turkish Albayrak Group’s 14-year contract to manage the Port of Mogadishu.
The long-term geopolitical impact of Naqbi’s appointment could be more significant, as it could reflect a sea change in the UAE’s power projection tactics on the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. On the surface, it appears as if the UAE is retrenching from the region. In October 2019, the UAE officially withdrew its military presence from Aden, and on Feb. 18, the UAE dismantled its base in Assab, Eritrea, which assisted its military intervention in southern Yemen.
A closer examination reveals that the UAE is reorienting its Red Sea strategy away from direct military intervention and toward a synthesis of economic investment and remote power projection. The UAE’s transition from a security-premised to economy-focused strategy in Somaliland, which was illustrated by Abu Dhabi’s September 2019 conversion of its proposed military base in Berbera into a civilian airport, was a critical dimension of its strategic reorientation.
(A P)
Bahrain appoints first-ever ambassador to Israel
A Bahraini team is expected to arrive in Israel in the coming weeks to set up an embassy in the Tel Aviv area.
(* B K P)
With the Renzi government record collections for the Italian arms industries
The executive led by the former mayor of Florence was characterized by trips to Africa and the release of important military agreements. In 2016, record business of € 14.6 billion. From small arms sent to Cairo, even after the Regeni murder, to the order of bombs to Saudi "friends" at war in Yemen
There was no doubt that Renzi and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, were friends, the leader of Italia Viva himself reiterated on Wednesday to the microphones of journalists waiting for him outside the senate. "He is my friend," Renzi said, adding that he does not consider him the instigator of the murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The motivation is simple: since bin Salman was not sanctioned by the US administration of Joe Biden then he is innocent. However, it is President Biden himself who made it clear in an interview that bin Salman was not sanctioned because he lacked the political will to do so, as he was never targeted at an important representative of an allied state. The relations between Saudi Arabia and Renzi are not only remembered during the last visit to Riyadh in the midst of a government crisis, but also the export of a massive order of bombs to the Saudi kingdom. "That supply is particularly odious because the license to export 19,675 aerial bombs to the Saudi Air Force was issued by the Renzi government in 2016 when the indiscriminate bombings in Yemen were already known
(A P)
Maneuvers of Air Excellence Center Exercise Launched, with Participation of Royal Saudi Air Force, in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2209608
My comment: Paksitan joining with killers.
(A P)
Yemeni students in Syria organise solidarity event marking six years of Saudi-imposed war
Photos: https://twitter.com/YEembassy/status/1376934227468517382
cp13a Waffenhandel / Arms trade
Siehe / Look at cp1
(B K P)
The #Houthis are being supplied weapons and tech assistance by #DPRK via #Syria and DPRK proxy Hussein al-Ali since 2016. Point men for Houthi-DPRK alliance: 1. Naif Ahmad Al Qanis [Houthi ambassador in Damascus] 2. Zakaria Yahya al-Shami (excerpt from UN panel report)
https://twitter.com/Ayei_Eloheichem/status/1377443401369411585
(* A K P)
Lockheed to Continue Saudi Arabia THAAD Support Under $610M Phase II FMS Contract
Lockheed Martin‘s (NYSE: LMT) missiles and fire control business has secured a $610.5 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency to continue providing a range of support services for Saudi Arabia’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to fulfill a foreign military sales requirement.
Work under the THAAD FMS Phase II contract will include ground production, training, engineering, obsolescence and facility and software support services, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.
The company will also perform system integration, checkout and maintenance work at various locations within and outside the continental U.S.
DOD noted the performance period will begin on April 1 and continue through Aug. 31, 2027.
(* A K P)
Out of Desperation Facing Yemeni Missiles, Saudi Hope Put on Failed Israeli Iron Dome
According to the latest news from Israel, the relationship between Israel and Saudi Arabia is moving to a more advanced stage, as Tel Aviv guaranteed, under the full and direct auspices of the US ally, the installation of the "Iron Dome" system in the Kingdom, to block Yemeni missiles and drones.
Regardless of the effectiveness of the Israeli system, whose faults have been exposed during the past years, this step opens the door to dramatic developments in the Saudi-Israeli relationship, which until now remains behind the scenes.
Military censorship in Israel refuses, until now, to announce which Gulf country that the Iron Dome system was sent to to intercept short-range missiles. If the refusal were understood, it would not be difficult to estimate that the name of the country concerned is Saudi Arabia.
According to sources, a delegation from the Israeli Military Industries Rafael is currently staying in Saudi Arabia, with the aim of researching what the company can do to secure defenses against Yemeni missiles and drones, which - paradoxically - are threatening Israel itself, especially since the system has not yet been put to a practical test.
cp13b Kulturerbe / Cultural heritage
(* B C)
Solace through conservation: WMF makes strides in restoring war-damaged sites in Yemeni city
Amid debilitating war, conservation of mausoleum and museum palace in Taiz is now complete
The World Monuments Fund (WMF) reports that it has made strides in rehabilitating historic sites in the Yemeni city of Taiz, devastated by a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people across the country in a mammoth humanitarian crisis.
In March, local restorers overseen by the organisation completed work on an emergency stabilisation project at Qubbat al-Husayniyah, an Ottoman-era mausoleum in the city that had deteriorated amid the chaos, the WMF says. In February they finished the restoration of interior spaces at the Imam Palace, another Ottoman-era building shelled by rebels in 2016 that is part of the city’s museum complex, it adds.
In addition to the devastating human casualties, Taiz residents witnessed damage to historic buildings in their Old City that were an integral part of their cultural fabric.
In 2018, the WMF launched an initiative to stabilise landmarks in the city, coaching a team of Yemeni restorers who received training in conservation in Kuwait and Cairo under its guidance. The same year, the organisation included Taiz’s Old City on its World Monuments Watch.
Some of the sites targeted by the organisation had received direct missile hits, others were buckling from war damage to adjoining buildings, and still others suffered from a lack of maintenance and care due to the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the conflict, says Jonathan Bell, the WMF’s vice president of programs.
Even as fighting continues elsewhere, Bell says, “at the moment, conflict is not in that corner of the country, and we hope that the stability spreads. Compared with 2015-17, it’s much more stable [in Taiz] than then.”
The WMF says that the Qubbat al-Husayniyah mausoleum had been rapidly deteriorating because of financial shortfalls exacerbated by the war. Bell says that vibrations from war damage to nearby structures widened cracks.
Now the WMF is gearing up to rebuild the adjoining Al-Badr Palace–which received a “direct hit” in the conflict, Bell says, and partially collapsed
Another target for restoration is the 13th-century Hammam al-Mudhaffar, the oldest surviving public bath complex in Yemen. It fell into disrepair and was being partially used when the war began and then ceased functioning altogether.
Deteriorating from years of neglect, it could once again cement social connections among residents if rejuvenated, the WMF says.
Noting that Taiz is Yemen’s third-largest city after Sana’a and Aden, Bell says he hopes that the work there will demonstrate the role that “heritage can play in recovery”.
and the original WMF site: https://www.wmf.org/press-release/heart-war-torn-yemen-cultural-heritage-revived
(B C)
Film: Yemen - Haid Al-Jazeel, a Yemeni town on a giant rock
When leaving towards Hadhramaut governorate, it’s unimaginable that you would see a town on a giant hill in a deep valley, however it’s true, the town of Haid Al-Jazeel in Wadi Doan, is considered one of the most Yemeni towns that summarizes the secrets of Yemeni architecture. On 350 feet, the age of the oldest houses in the town, according to archaeological estimates, dated back to about 500 years, and they were built with simple raw materials of clay and tree trunks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=karOAc5ufM0
cp13c Wirtschaft / Economy
(* B E K)
Jemens Ölminister [der regierung von Sanaa] : Über 75 Mrd. Dollar jemenitische Öl- und Gaseinnahmen, während Saudikrieg geplündert
Der jemenitische Minister für Öl und Mineralien sagte, seit Beginn des von Saudi-Arabien geführten Krieges gegen das arabische Land seien mehr als 75 Milliarden US-Dollar an Öl- und Gaseinnahmen aus dem Jemen geplündert worden.
"Der Wert der Öl- und Gaseinnahmen, die von den Invasionskräften im Jemen in sechs Jahren geplündert wurden, beträgt mehr als 19 Billionen jemenitische Rials (fast 76 Milliarden US-Dollar)", sagte Ahmad Abdullah Dares am Freitag gegenüber dem Fernsehsender al-Masirah im Jemen.
Dares erklärte, dass die geplünderten Einnahmen 1,3 Billionen Rials (rund 5 Milliarden US-Dollar) der Einnahmen der Ma'rib-Ölraffinerie und 1,3 Billionen Rials der inländischen Erdgaseinnahmen umfassen.
Er fügte hinzu, dass der Verlust des Jemen infolge der Unterbrechung seiner Flüssiggasproduktion 2,7 Billionen Rial (fast 11 Milliarden US-Dollar) erreicht habe.
(A E P)
Saudi Arabia Must Return Yemeni Oil Revenues
Member of the Supreme Political Council in Yemen, Mohammad Ali Al-Houthi, urged Saudi Arabia to return the Yemeni funds that it has been holding since 2015 until today "if it wants to beautify itself."
In his tweet, Al-Houthi said, "Saudi Arabia must return the Yemeni oil revenues that the Minister of Oil announced days ago."
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18645/Saudi-Arabia-Must-Return-Yemeni-Oil-Revenues
and
(B E P)
Over 19 Trillion Yemeni Riyals Stolen by US-Saudi Mercenaries
[Sanaa gov.] Minister of Oil and Minerals, Ahmed Dars, revealed, Friday, that the value of the stolen oil and gas revenues from the forces of aggression during 6 years amounted to more than 19 trillion Yemeni riyals.
(A E)
Rial records relative rise as Saudi Arabia offers $422 million fuel donation for Yemen
The rial recorded a relative rise against foreign currencies in the interim capital Aden and other regions controlled by the internationally recognised government on Wednesday after Saudi Arabia announced a $422 million fuel donation for Yemen.
It traded at 833 per US dollar, down from 874 in recent days, exchangers said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24190.html
(B E P)
[Sanaa gov.] Fisheries Ministry Condemns UAE Plundering of Fishery Resources in Yemen
According to Saba News Agency, the ministry stated in a statement that the UAE had looted thousands of tons of rock lobsters by illegal methods.
The statement referred to the UAE's exploitation of the aggression on the country and the complicity of mercenaries to carry out these assaults by fishing during the breeding season of this rare and endangered fish, in which it is prohibited to fish.
The statement added that the UAE uses hunting methods that kill young and female rock lobsters.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134919.htm
(B E K pH)
Sana'a Telecom sector loses over YR2 bln due to aggression
The telecom sector in Sana'a province incurred huge financial losses as a result of the US-Saudi aggression amounting to over YR 2.322 billion.
The Office of Public Telecommunications Corporation (PTC) confirmed in a statement that the airstrikes of aggression completely destroyed 19 buildings, networks and strengthening station in various districts.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134640.htm
cp14 Terrorismus / Terrorism
(A T)
Pro–al Qaeda media Nashir al Khayr published a video infographic with data on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) operations on March 28. The outlet gathered data from four AQAP communiques published from March 24 to March 26, detailing AQAP attacks on UAE-backed Security Belt Forces in southern Yemen’s Abyan governorate.[i]
(* B T)
Yemeni govt intelligence report reveals Houthis work closely with al-Qaeda, ISIS
Yemen’s internationally-recognized government accused the Iran-backed Houthi militia of working closely with both al-Qaeda and ISIS to inflict terrorism on the Yemeni people in an intelligence report submitted to the UN Security Council.
“This report, which is based on confirmed intelligence information and facts, sheds light on the close relationship between the Houthi militia and both al-Qaeda and ISIS, which is an extension of the relationship between Iran and terrorist organizations,” the government said in the report dated March 30.
“In addition, the report shows how these militias are using their relationship with terrorist organizations to inflict more terrorism on the Yemeni people.”
When the Houthis took control of Sanaa, the group seized all information collected by the government’s national and political security services, according to the report.
The Houthis “manipulated and misused [the information] to build close relationships with both al-Qaeda and ISIS.”
The Yemeni government said the Houthis and the terrorist organizations have been cooperating in various fields, including security and intelligence, providing a safe haven for many members of the terrorist organizations, coordinating combat operations against the legitimate forces, permitting the terrorist organizations to build and fortify their strongholds, while avoiding confrontations with them.
The Iran-backed group also released 252 terrorist prisoners who were jailed in the national and political security prisons of Sanaa and other governorates, the report revealed.
Jamal Mohammed al-Badawi, one of the terrorists behind the bombing on the US Navy destroyer the USS Cole, was freed from jail by the Houthis, the report stated.
Fifty-five al-Qaeda terrorists are currently in Sanaa and other Houthi-controlled areas, the report added.
The report also includes testimonies of al-Qaeda members who were captured by Yemen’s National Army Forces while they were fighting alongside the Houthi militia.
Al-Qaeda member Musa Nassir Ali Hassan al-Melhani admitted to the presence of al-Qaeda fighters within the Houthi militia, and said that the Iran-backed group heavily relies on the fighters in Sanaa.
The Yemeni government said that the Houthis and terrorist organizations plan coordinated criminal acts that threaten the security and stability of Yemen and the region, as well as international shipping lines.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/03/31/Yemeni-govt-intelligence-report-reveals-Houthis-work-closely-with-al-Qaeda-ISIS = http://en.adenpress.news/news/32608
and
(A P)
Yemeni Gov’t Submits Report on Houthi Terrorist Relations to UNSC
Yemen’s internationally-recognized government submitted an intelligence report to the UN Security Council revealing that Iran-backed Houthi militia are working closely with both al-Qaeda and ISIS to inflict terrorism on the Yemeni people.
The 27-page report, which Asharq Al-Awsat obtained a copy of, cites several instances Houthis were involved with terrorist organizations. In one of the documented cases, Houthis set free 252 convicted terrorists who were jailed in the national and political security prisons of Sanaa and other governorates.
My comment: As claimed by the Hadi government. I fear that the propaganda level is high. Cooperation between anti-Houthi forces and Al Qaeda is beyond doubt.
cp15 Propaganda
(A P)
Saudi Press: Saudi Arabia Always Aims at Maintaining Regional Stability and Security
Al-Yaum, Al Eqtisadiah and Al-Riyadh newspapers reported in their editorials that strategies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia always aim at maintaining the regional stability and security.
The papers confirmed that these strategies reflect the Saudi Arabia's strength and capability and its pioneering roles in the region and the international community.
In this regard, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always been keen to build good, coherent, and strategic relations with Iraq, especially in times of crisis that Iraq had gone through, the papers said .
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2210507
(A P)
Human Rights: Blockade Imposed on Yemenis Crossed All Limits
[Sanaa gov.] Ministry of Human Rights confirmed that the comprehensive siege on the Yemeni people crossed all limits in a dangerous way for civilians and the graphical indicator of the number of victims is still remarkably high.
The ministry indicated in a statement that the persistence of the US-Saudi aggression in its siege and detention of fuel tankers for more than a year showed an indication of a new famine that will kill children, women and the elderly in various governorates.
It denounced the suspicious UN silence towards the suffering of Yemenis and the groans of millions of people forcibly displaced from their areas for six years as a result of the aggression and the lack of serious action regarding the repeated bombardment of the IDP camps since the beginning of the aggression.
The Ministry of Human Rights renewed the call for the necessity to protect the displaced, who are used by aggression in Marib governorate as human shields
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18659/Human-Rights-Blockade-Imposed-on-Yemenis-Crossed-All-Limits
(A P)
Iran has instructed Houthis to occupy Marib, obstruct Saudi peace initiative, Yemeni official
Advisor to Yemen's president Abdulmalik Al-Mekhlafi on Thursday accused Iran of mobilising its axis of sectarian destruction to support the Houthi group to seize Marib province and obstruct the Saudi peace initiative.
At a time when the world awaits the UN and US efforts to cease hostilities and bring peace to Yemen, the Iranian sectarian axis of destruction is being mobilised behind the Houthis to occupy Marib, he wrote on Twitter.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24216.html
(A P)
Iran, Hezbollah behind Houthis rejecting Saudi initiative: Yemeni gov't
The Yemen official government on Friday accused Iran and Hezbollah of pushing the Houthis to reject the Saudi initiative to end war.
The Houthis, "as usual, utter sweet words at negotiation table in Muscat, but on the ground escalation continues in the form of targeting Saudi cities and shelling IDPs camps in Marib," government spokesman said.
Iran and Hezbollah instruct the Houthis to decline and foil the Saudi initiative, Rajih Badi added in remarks to Asharq al-Awsat.
"Yesterday, we watched Nasrullah speech, his blatant interference and his call for rejecting the Saudi initiative, and that peace is not in the Houthi interest.
"Now it's known who receives directives from Tehran and Beirut and refuses peace because it's not in their interest. We wonder, how long will some keep misleading the Yemenis and the world?" Badi said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24228.html
(A P)
Getting Aid to Those Who Need It Most in Yemen
The United States supports the free flow of fuel, food, and other essential commercial goods into Yemen. However, doing so requires not only that commercial goods pass smoothly through ports, but also that they are allowed to pass throughout the country, including areas under Houthi control.
“Unfortunately, we know that the Houthis continue to impede that flow, including diverting money from imports that were intended for civil service salaries in direct violation of their obligations under a UN-brokered agreement,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price. “As a result, civil servants are not getting paid and therefore lack funds to purchase what food is available. “Houthi diversion of fuel imports is just one of the many ways they are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis for the majority of the Yemeni population under their control.”
The United States will work with the governments of Yemen and Saudi Arabia to find a way to ensure food and fuel, and other commercial goods get to Yemeni markets and that it is not confiscated by the Houthis for sale on the black market or for use in their war effort.
The United States and the United Nations are urging the parties to start talking under UN auspices. They are proposing an accelerated timeline for peace
https://editorials.voa.gov/a/getting-aid-to-those-who-need-it-most-in-yemen/5838847.html
(A P)
Israel is guest of honor in series of Storm: Report
After the revolution of September 21, 2014, the Zionist entity began to fear the control of Ansarullah movement over Yemen as Yemen had the main gate of Bab al-Mandab and it would turn into a camp for the resistance axis which it poses an existential threat to Israel.
This fear prompted the Zionist entity to coordinate logistical and intelligence coordination with Saudi Arabia and the UAE and wage their criminal war on Yemen and its people.
The Zionist entity worked in supervising and training Saudi Emirati mercenaries in the state of Eritrea, and supporting the aggression coalition with lethal weapons to kill the Yemeni people, as happened in Faj Attan area in the capital Sana'a on Aug. 25, 2017. At the same time, the UAE went on to occupy Yemen's coastal cities, including its Yemeni islands for example Socotra archipelago and Perim Island (Mayyun).
The Earliest Zionist involvement in the so-called Decisive Storm was not surprised by the Yemeni people, given the geostrategic importance of Yemen in the south of the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, Bab al-Mandab, and the Red Sea, in addition to the increasing presence of the Ansarullah movement in Yemen because it represents a spirit of resistance to the Palestinian cause that had a thunderbolt in Zionist accounts.
So, Tel Aviv found in the Storm of Shame an outlet to alleviate the nightmare of the rising tsunami of supporters Ansarullah a golden opportunity to approach the countries of the region and contain them and persuade them to engage in the normalization peace, especially Saudi Arabia because of the religious symbolism it represents and its weight in the Arab and Islamic world.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134906.htm
(A P)
Teherans langer Arm vertreibt die letzten Juden aus dem Jemen
Doch zeigt gerade das Kleinliche dieses „Trennungswahns“ (um Achille Mbembe zu zitieren), der nicht einmal 13 meist ältere Juden in dem für den wahren Glauben wiedereroberten Gebiet dulden kann, dass es den Teheraner Theokraten und ihren willigen Helfern, zu denen auch die Hisbollah im Libanon und die Hamas in Gaza gehören, mit ihrem eliminatorischen Antisemitismus ernst ist. Ihnen muss Einhalt geboten werden.
(A P)
Yemen’s “Southern Hezbollah”: Implications of Houthi Missile and Drone Improvements
As the Iran-backed rebels make further range leaps that bring them closer to reaching Israel and other countries, the United States needs to start viewing them as a proliferation challenge beyond Yemen’s civil war.
Accordingly, U.S. diplomats and military planners will need to factor this threat complex into their future calculations beyond the current Yemen war.
Evolution of Houthi Missiles and Drones
Maturing capabilities, increasing strikes. Given the number of attacks that have been launched in recent years using all of these systems, it is clear that Iran and the Houthis have developed a small but effective military industry in Sanaa and Saada.
Next Stages in Houthi Strike Operations
Increasing accuracy in artillery rockets. Houthi artillery rockets have progressed from the Badr-1 (unguided), to the Badr-1P and Badr-F (guided with a claimed circular error probable of 3 meters), to new variants called Sair, Qasim, and Nakal (the Houthis claimed to use a Sair in the March 25 strike). If the latest systems can combine accuracy with slightly extended range, they could seriously disrupt the Saudi airbase in Khamis Mushait, the linchpin for the defense of Marib.
Policy Implications Beyond the Yemen War
If the Houthis overrun Marib, Yemen’s energy hub, they will effectively win the war they launched in 2014 when they overran Sanaa
To counter this threat during the remainder of the war and afterward, the United States should take the following steps:
Prevent further Houthi expansion. U.S. interests are not served by the Houthis controlling Marib, which may be a springboard for further expansion southward and eastward. Washington should leverage a full range of tools to prevent this outcome, such as: designating various leaders of Ansar Allah (the Houthi movement’s formal name) under Executive Order 13611, the authority used for blocking the property of individuals who threaten “the peace, security, or stability of Yemen”; undermining Houthi leaders by disclosing intelligence on their corruption or Iranian ties; and conducting nonlethal U.S. demonstrations of force in support of Marib’s defense, such as information operations broadcasts and resupply airdrops to the defenders.
Tighten the screws on Houthi strike forces. The United States and its partners should intensify their efforts to map out missile and drone procurement networks and expose them to kinetic, cyber, financial, and counter-smuggling operations. Southeast Yemen and Oman are the primary import locations, so they should receive the most scrutiny. Separately, any international peace deal and sanctions relief must be conditioned on the Houthi part of Yemen removing Iranian technicians and coming back into compliance with the Missile Technology Control Regime—which means giving up all of its missiles.
Build shared early-warning networks in the Red Sea.
Think the unthinkable. Although the war to roll back the Houthi coup has become a political lightning rod in the United States, Washington should undertake a dispassionate review of its policy toward the Houthis, assessing their future intentions toward not only U.S. personnel and facilities in the region, but also Israel, international shipping, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Hezbollah. If such a review concludes that the Houthis are likely to be a U.S. adversary in the future regardless of how the Yemen conflict ends, then officials should start thinking about a containment strategy now rather than later. Given the group’s growing long-range arsenal and its commitment to its official motto of “Death to America, death to Israel, curse the Jews, victory to Islam,” such contingency planning already seems prudent – by Michael Knights
My comment: Whow. Now this hawkish neocon think tank puts out the great stick of US military intervention, even claiming a threat to Israel. This is part of a propaganda campaign:
(A P)
The Case for a Holistic U.S. Policy Toward the Emerging Red Sea Region
To promote stability and other U.S. interests, Washington must reshape its approach to this increasingly complex staging ground for global competition.
As the author explains, any successful U.S. approach to this complex set of policy challenges must begin by recognizing the Red Sea as a distinct emerging region. Beyond this, she writes, “such a policy would take an organizing approach to U.S. partner countries and contend with the very real challenges posed by the diplomatic and military ‘seams’ running down the Red Sea that have traditionally split Middle East policy from Africa policy in the State and Defense Departments.”
In the coming weeks, TRANSITION 2021 memos by Washington Institute experts will address the broad array of issues facing the Biden-Harris administration in the Middle East.
My comment: Showing the typical US madness. The US never promoted “stability” in this region, just the opposite. This would only make sense if you equate stability and “US interests”. And, stay serious: How there really could be serious “US interests” in a region 7,000 miles away from the US? Only if you would accept the madness that the whole planet is a zone of “US interest” and that the US (as the only country in the world) would have the right to enforce its “interest” by all menans including war on every spot on this planet (and beyond).
(A P)
Yemeni Foreign Minister: Targeting vital energy installations in Saudi Arabia destabilizes the security and stability of the region and the world
The Yemeni Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, said that the Houthi militia's systematic terrorist acts against international shipping lanes and vital energy installations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are a serious and destabilizing threat to the security and stability of the region and the world.
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2210476
(A P)
Interview: Yemeni info minister says world must push Houthis to break with Iran, accept peace
In exclusive interview, information minister says Yemenis “disappointed” by US decision to delist Houthis from terror list
Al-Eryani deplores international rights groups’ silence on Houthi crimes, including the deadly Sanaa migrant camp fire
Members of the international community with open channels to Yemen’s Houthi militia must use their leverage to encourage it to sever ties with Iran and commit to the Saudi-led peace initiative, a senior Yemeni Cabinet minister has said.
Moammar Al-Eryani, Yemen’s minister for information, culture and tourism, issued the appeal in an exclusive interview with Arab News, adding he was under no illusions about the role of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCG), in particular its extraterritorial Quds Force, in the Houthis’ ongoing military offensive in Marib and its attacks on civilian facilities and commercial shipping.
“Although we understand that the Houthi militia is merely a dirty tool to carry out the Iranian agenda of targeting Saudi Arabia, spreading chaos and terrorism in the region and threatening commercial ships and international shipping lanes, we call on countries that are communicating with the Houthis to play a constructive role,” Al-Eryani said.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1835361/middle-east
(A P)
After the UN has confirmed that Houthis are behind the Dec. 30 attack on Aden airport, I think the relatives of the slain aid workers and all the victims should sue the UN. Because the UN is the one who defends Houthis all the time, throws them lifelines and has abstained from holding them accountable for all the crimes since 2015. The UN is the one lobbied for lifting terrorist militia from the US terror list, remember!. /A facebook post by Nadhem Saeed.
- The cities under Houthi aggression have horrific pictures to show us: from the children of Taiz slain by Houthi snipers to the children standing with pale faces after they were scared out of their IDPs camps by Houthi shelling in Marib. Many stories with the real humanitarian element. Many getty images. Yet, the western media are stuck to reporting the Yemeni war from the Shia thugs’ perspective to preferring the Houthi militia’s rousing rallies in Sana’a over the tragedies Houthis create elsewhere. This is an example of the ugly work of the western press. !/A facebook post by Waleed Sayf.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46062
(A P)
The conspiracy of handing Yemen over to Shia extremists by piecemeal
I think neither the Houthis are ready to respect the basic value of peaceful coexistence (let alone power sharing values), nor the UN ignores the facts about their extremist religious (theocratic) beliefs and insanely violent nature.
The UN is not ignorant of the fact that Houthis are insanely extremist and violent Shiit militia that seeks to subjugate the 80% Sunni Yemenis or wipe them out from the face of the Earth.
What many of us, Yemenis, ignore, is that the UN is part of a decades-old international conspiracy to hand Yemen over to the Shiit Houthi militia in a bit-by-bit way, so that no one can notice!
This is the simplified fact of what is going in Yemen.
Those who don’t know this fact today will know it someday.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46063
(A P)
Houthis want Sana’a airport opened to use it for military purposes, says pres. advisor
Yemen’s Houthi militia demand the blockade of Sana’a International Airport to be lifted so that they can use it for ulterior military purposes, the country’s presidential advisor has said.
In a tweet, Abdulmalik Al-Mikhlafi said: “The Houthi [militia leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi] believes that he can get rewards for all the destruction he has incurred in Yemen including … by seeking a permit [from the Arab Coalition] to operate flights to destinations that can be used militarily. He does not want the airport opened to alleviate any humanitarian suffering.”
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46064
My comment: A good example how the Hadi government tries to block any peace efforts, being even more radical than the Saudis.
(A P)
Yemeni Missiles put Saudi Security under Tough Test
Silent anticipation and tension enveloped the atmosphere in Saudi Arabia in front of Sana'a's deterrent strategy for the crimes of Salman and his crown prince, who burned Yemen in a dirty war on behalf of the titans of wars.
The land and air borders between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen have become the embodiment of a new chapter of the tragedy of the Al Saud family in Riyadh, which witnessed terror due to drones hitting vital sites, such as Aramco, Abha airport and camps in the depths of the Kingdom. Bin Salman received more threats to target his depth. Sana'a's warning comes as painful threat, according to what was announced by the spokesperson of the armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree statement, more to come in the coming days.
That the seventh year of steadfastness will witness more military operations, and the strikes targeting the Saudi land will not stop unless the aggression stops and the siege is lifted.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18626/Yemeni-Missiles-put-Saudi-Security-under-Tough-Test
(A P)
History to List Yemeni Victor against US-Saudi Aggression, The Miracle
As the confrontation progressed day after day, the steadfastness, the fighting style, the Yemeni defense were remarkable. Over time, the features of the confrontation began to change. The Yemenis turned in the first stage from defense towards stabilizing the fronts, then in the second stage they started attacking and pressuring on most of the sites of the coalition inside the Yemeni fronts and on the northern borders with the Kingdom.
The final stage is distinguished. It was accompanied by the manufacture and development of the army qualitative weapons and strategic capabilities, including ballistic missiles, drones and air defense systems, which contributed remarkably and shockingly to the coalition and its regional and Western backers, in supporting the defense, stability and offensive maneuver to impose a deterrence equation and a balance of terror that froze all field and military projects of the Aggression Coalition.
Today, about 6 years after the beginning of the aggression, all specialists in military-field affairs confirm a complete victory for the Yemeni Army, Popular Committees, and Ansarullah, in the true sense of the word.
(A P)
Beyond Suez: How Yemen’s War Can Imperil Red Sea Shipping
If this past week’s blockage of the Suez Canal is any indication, a major conflagration in Yemen has the capacity to threaten the freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and have serious ramifications for Suez Canal finances and global commerce in the long-term.
Following the outbreak of hostilities in 2014 and the seizure of Yemen’s capital city of Sana’a by Houthi tribesmen, foreign policy experts had begun to raise the alarm at the potential for an Iranian-backed militia to disrupt maritime traffic by targeting Red Sea vessels. Periodic low-level attacks, the firing of sea-bound missiles, and the seizure of ships only managed to exacerbate these fears.
The expanded canal elevated the importance of the strait and the political situation in Yemen, inviting, once again, a new era of foreign intervention to secure the Yemeni gates to the Suez Canal.
If this past week’s blockage of the Suez Canal is any indication, a major conflagration in Yemen has the capacity to threaten the freedom of navigation through the Red Sea and have serious ramifications for Suez Canal finances and global commerce in the long-term. A narrow focus on the Suez Canal misses the larger picture of the Red Sea region.
My comment: Nice try to misuse the Suez Canal blockade for anti-Houthi (and even anti-Iran) propaganda. The main danger up to now had been Saudi and US naval attacks against the Yemeni coast.
(A P)
The Significance of Events in Yemen for the Mideast Strategic Equation
The US decision to withdraw support from the battle against the Houtis in Yemen signals a change of direction away from staunch backing of Western allies in the contest with Iran, and towards an attempt at “balancing” between rival regional powers, along the lines attempted by the Obama Administration.
But the significance of the decision goes deeper. Yemen is a space of clear strategic significance, if one begins from the assumption that Iran and its allies constitute the key danger to regional order, and that therefore preventing their expansion must be a core interest for all those committed to the preservation of that order. The decision by the US Administration to withdraw support for the forces holding the line against the Teheran-supported Houthis suggests that the Administration is operating from a different set of assumptions or preferences.
In the case of the current situation in Yemen, the instigator of the conflict is the pro-Iranian side. Absolving the Houthis of responsibility for this situation would be analogous to absolving the Assad regime of responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Syria. It is not clear why this attribution of sole or primary responsibility has become routine in most Western media coverage of the situation in Yemen.
But the strategic significance of the Saudi-led intervention is not confined only to the issue of oil products and their transit through the Bab el Mandeb Strait. This route is also Israel and Egypt’s gateway to the east and to the economies of Asia which are set to emerge as the center of global strategic and economic gravity in the period ahead.
Similarly, the route via the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean is vital to the US Fifth Fleet, which is the main guarantor of security in the Gulf region, protecting vital shipping lanes on the route from the Suez Canal to the Horn of Africa.
Finally, the domination of Yemen would form a significant element in the Iranian strategy of surrounding Saudi Arabia.
The arguments for maintaining Western support for the Saudi effort in Yemen, as summarized above, make good sense if events in the Middle East are seen through the prism of a Cold War type system, in which a US backed security architecture is being challenged by an Iranian attempt at hegemony. From this point of view, it is difficult to see how the US decision serves American and Western interests.
https://jiss.org.il/en/spyer-the-significance-of-events-in-yemen/ = https://www.jns.org/opinion/yemens-place-in-the-mideast-strategic-equation/
(A P)
Decisive, Hope Restoration Storms rendered to hurricane swallowing Yemen
Yemen is now a conflict zone for three regional influence seekers: Tehran, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, say observers.
While the Saudi-Emirati coalition made significant gains in the first three month of its intervention, these achievements quickly vanished, Yemeni political analyst said on Facebook, citing "some errors and faults."
The first airstrikes successfully obstructed the rivals' combating and armament capacities, allowing for anticipations that the campaign could take three or, at the most, ten months, Eidaroos Nasr added.
The greatest success was achieved in southern areas, when the coup group was repelled in less than 100 days to pre-unification borders, the analyst says. Unfortunately, the coalition countries did not make good use of that success by introducing an encouraging model for the project they want for Yemen, which could make millions of Yemenis in Houthi-held areas keen to liberation and resistance.
Suffering, misery, bad services and insecurity in freed provinces are factors that the Houthi group fully exploited as morale propaganda to recruit more fighters and deploy them in combating fronts, prolonging the war, Nasr added.
The Arab coalition declared the Hope Restoration Storm in April 2015, one month and so after the Decisive Storm that, according to the coalition's spokesman, had achieved its goals and destructed more than 80% of the Houthi (and Saleh) capacities.
However, the new Storm changed later into a huge hurricane swallowing Yemen and Yemenis, along with the legitimacy which the coalition came to rescue and bring its leaders to Sana'a City.
Long years of war depleted the country and brought about rival cantons, making the legitimate authority the weakest ring, with negative role played by the UN whose mission was limited to raising funds and aid, although the number of starving and needy Yemenis kept doubling.
As the legitimate government increasingly lost area of land – for the benefit of either Sana'a coup leaders (Houthi group) or Aden coup leaders (Southern Transitional Council known as STC) – the coalition leader (Saudi Arabia) became open to semi-daily attacks of ballistic missiles and drones.
"Riyadh today is helplessly facing Houthi military capacities that were built up despite the blockade imposed on all land, sea and air ports," says Yemeni journalist, Ahmed Fouzi.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24144.html
(A P)
Saudi envoy: Our pullout from Yemen won't end conflict, bring peace
Saudi withdrawal from Yemen will not lead to sought peace in the war-torn country, Riyadh ambassador to London said Tuesday.
"We need to be realist about what would happen if we unilaterally left. The conflict won't end, a new bloody chapter could begin, with an increase in civilian fatalities, and the humanitarian assistances currently floodable to the region could not continue."
The Kingdom is indeed willing to release the peace initiative it declared to solve Yemen's crisis and another ceasefire proposal amid a real risk of famine facing the country, the Saudi diplomat said, but "there are a set of obstructions that should be coped with first."
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24156.html
(A P)
Battlefield Realities Overshadow Some Core Yemeni Concerns in Peace Process
With multiple interests at play, peacemaking in Yemen is a complex problem that goes beyond one party's willingness to take action.
This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia has sought to broker peace in Yemen or reach out to the Houthis. The Saudi government has long been looking for a feasible exit strategy due to the lack of political and military progress on the ground and the increasingly devastating humanitarian situation.
Many Yemenis have come to suffer under the Houthis as religious freedoms for Yemeni Sunnis, Bahais, and Jews have become threatened and freedom of expression severely constrained. Moreover, relations between Houthis and local actors, including tribes in areas under Houthi control, have worsened since 2014 raising opposition to their governance.
A hastily developed peace plan that reflects Houthi battlefield dominance in the north will likely trigger another botched negotiation cycle similar to the rushed United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Stockholm in December 2018.
Yemen’s experience has demonstrated a serious problem with peace plans often formulated by external actors and overly shaped by battlefield realities in Yemen, to the exclusion of legitimate Yemeni stakeholders who feel marginalized by both internal dynamics and international mediation efforts and threatened by violence from both the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition. The current Saudi initiative, as well as the Biden administration’s approach, doesn’t sufficiently address the dangerous levels of violence that Yemeni people are experiencing due to the Houthis’ expansion. To overcome this, the Saudis, with the help of the United Nations and U.S. administration, need to broaden the discussion to include their local Yemeni allies. The initiative also needs to reflect the reality that many Yemenis fear falling under control of the Houthis and subject to their constricted vision for Yemen’s future. There is no question that finding leverage with the Houthis is a huge challenge; but being inclusive of all Yemeni components in this current peacemaking process will at least ensure that peacemaking efforts are fully informed about dynamics and views inside Yemen. Such inclusiveness strengthens the chances for a durable solution to Yemen’s ongoing conflict.
https://agsiw.org/battlefield-realities-overshadow-some-core-yemeni-concerns-in-peace-process/
(A P)
Peace through Oman?
Efforts to end the war in Yemen await an Iran deal,
The Saudi commentator Abdul-Aziz Al-Khames told Al-Ahram Weekly that Iran is the party to blame for foiling peace efforts. “The Houthis are the main obstacle to any political settlement in Yemen. They are not open to any compromise. The legitimate government is willing to compromise and provide concessions, the Houthis are not,” Al-Khames said. “It is not in the interest of Iran to stop the war in Yemen. They do not want a ceasefire or a political solution as they thrive on the conflict. That is why they are pushing their proxy, the Houthi militia to reject peaceful initiatives.”
Since the start of Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen in March 2015, to support an internationally recognised government led by Hadi in the face of Houthi military campaign, the coalition repeatedly acknowledged that there is no military solution to the conflict. “The only path to political settlement is to include the Houthis in an inclusive government. The government is willing to share power with the Houthis, but the Houthis are not. In fact, Saudi Arabia is willing to go for that power-sharing settlement, but Iran is not. That is why the Houthis are foiling peace,” Al-Khames said.
“The Americans do not have a strategy for Yemen or any other issue in the region. They are mainly focusing on Russia, China and Iran. The Chinese are complicating it for them, as they now signed this partnership agreement with Iran giving them even more military presence in the Gulf region… This American administration came with a prior conception that the Saudi position is the issue, so let’s pressure Riyadh. They don’t realise it is a two-way issue: Saudi and Iran,” Al-Khames told the Weekly.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1203/408186/AlAhram-Weekly/World/Peace-through-Oman.aspx
(A P)
Yemen and the peace-killing Houthi militia
The Houthi militia has once again rejected proposals for peace in Yemen, owing to its vision of the conflict and its Iranian support
The Houthi militia responded quickly by rejecting the Saudi initiative, one which the rest of the world considered, and rightly so, to be an advanced step to find peace in a war-torn country where the state of societal fragmentation is expanding in ways that trigger both fear and sadness. The Yemenis saw in it a sincere and fraternal step that aspired to establish the peace that both Yemen and the region as a whole equally need.
However, the Houthi rejection, which shocked many observers, was not surprising for most Yemenis, who have become increasingly familiar with the mindset of the Houthi militia and have been besieged by its strange project. This is difficult to explain to the rest of the world because of the latter’s inability to understand a vision that emerges from the caves of history, while claiming to be divine truth and to be supreme over all people. But this is a story that will need more time for narration and analysis.
For the time being, let us answer the urgent question of why the Houthi militia rejected the Saudi peace initiative. In my view, there are two main aspects to this rejection.
The first is linked to its regional dimension and to the international conflict, by which we clearly mean the relationship with Iran and the fact that the Houthi militia definitely needs Tehran’s approval and guidance.
(A P)
Anti-Houthi Cartoon
https://twitter.com/RepYemenEnglish/status/1376969786278752258
(A P)
More Saudi coalition „We are benefactors“ propaganda
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32617
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2210356
https://www.arabnews.pk/node/1835451/saudi-arabia
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32606
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2210029
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32597
https://www.spa.gov.sa/viewfullstory.php?lang=en&newsid=2209506
cp16 Saudische Luftangriffe / Saudi air raids
(A K pH)
Aggression raids kill man, injure 7 in Marib
A man was killed and seven others injured on Friday in aggression raids on Marib province, a security official said.
The official added the aggression's warplanes hit residential areas in Rahba district, killing the man and injuring the seven others, some of them were critically injured.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3135092.htm
and also https://english.almasirah.net/post/18664/US-Saudi-Warplane-Kills%2C-Injures-8-Citizens-in-Marib
https://iranpress.com/content/36709
reports 2 killed: https://en.mehrnews.com/news/171590/2-civilians-killed-7-wounded-in-Saudi-attack-on-Marib
(A K pH)
Film: The media sector in Hajjah organizes a press conference reviewing the statistics of crimes and violations within 6 years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xccAN5FoQ_I
(* B K pH)
Statistics reveal aggression's crimes in Marib in six years
During six years of aggression, the US-Saudi aggression warplanes targeted Marib province with more than 30,000 times, according to a statistical report issued on Thursday.
Over 2,000 airstrikes hit the province in the first three months of 2021, the report issued by the Media Center of Marib province showed. The airstrikes resulted in the death and injury of 796 people, most of them women and children.
More than 54,147 families have been displaced, including 3,773 have fled to the capital Sana'a.
Nearly 592 houses, 183 farms and 29 schools were destroyed and damaged.
In the health sector, the aggression destroyed 3 hospitals, 4 medical centers, in addition to the repercussions of the blockade, which caused the suspension of many health centers due to the shortage of fuel, medicines and medical supplies.
The airstrikes also destroyed 15 bridges in a number of areas of the province with the aim of isolating the province's areas from each other and from neighboring provinces, in addition to destroying some 80 vehicles and six heavy construction equipment.
The statistics reported the targeting of 13 mosques in the province
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3135008.htm
and also https://english.almasirah.net/post/18657/Over-30-Thousands-US-Saudi-Raids-on-Marib
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/04/02/new-statistics-show-extent-of-saudi-crimes-in-marib-province/
(* B H K pH)
Aggression causes 2 Bln riyals losses in Sana'a health sector
Saudi aggression caused losses the total estimated amounted to 2.340 million riyals, suffered by the health sector in Sana'a province in six years.
A report issued on Thursday by the provincial health office, a copy was received by Saba, said that 27 hospitals, centers, and health units were completely and partially damaged by the aggression warplane, some of which were hampered by the country's economic situation.
The report explained that the aggression totally destroyed Ghadhran hospital, the health unit in Bani Heshaish, and the health offices in Sanhan, Hamdan, and Bilad al-Rus. Five hospitals, four health centers, and 17 health units were damaged, he said.
It said that the shelling of the warplane caused damage to three ambulances that were completely out of service, in addition to severe damage to the buildings and equipment of hospitals and branches of the health office in a number of provincial districts.
The aggression also caused electricity outages for 310 health facilities in the province, and the health sector suffered material losses and faced difficulties in providing medical services.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134920.htm
(A K pH)
More Saudi coalition air raids
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18667/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-Series-of-Raids-on-Marib%2C-Al-Jawf Marib p., Jawf p.
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18651/US-Saudi-Aggression-s-Daily-Update-for-Thursday%2C-April-1%2C-2021 Several prov.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134884.htm / https://english.almasirah.net/post/18634/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-Series-of-Raids-on-Marib%2C-Al-Jawf Marib p., Jawf p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134749.htm / https://english.almasirah.net/post/18620/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-Raids-on-Marib%2C-Hajjah Marib p.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134747.htm / https://english.almasirah.net/post/18620/US-Saudi-Aggression-Launches-Raids-on-Marib%2C-Hajjah Hajjah p.
cp17 Kriegsereignisse / Theater of War
Siehe / Look at cp17a
Im Jemen herrscht ein militärisches Patt. Eine größere Offensive mit größeren Erfolgen und Geländegewinnen für eine Seite bleiben seit der Offensive der saudischen Koalition gegen Hodeidah im Jahr 2018 aus. Kleinere Offensiven, ständige gegenseitige Angriffe und Gefechte mit Toten auf beiden Seiten und Opfern unter der Zivilbevölkerung gibt es aber ständig. Besonders betroffen sind die Provinzen Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, der Bezirk Nehm in der Provinz Sanaa, die Provinzen Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah und Saada.
There is a military stalemate in Yemen. A larger offensive with greater successes and territorial gains for one side has been absent since the Saudi coalition's offensive against Hodeidah in 2018. Smaller offensives, constant mutual attacks and skirmishes killing fighters of both sides and causing victims among the civilian population are constant. The provinces of Hodeidah, Taiz, Al Bayda, Al Dhalea, the district of Nehm in the province of Sanaa, the provinces of Al Jawf, Marib, Hajjah and Saada are particularly affected.
(A K)
Journalist dies in clashes btw. army, Houthis in Yemen
A Yemeni journalist died Friday during clashes between government forces and Iranian-backed Houthis in southwestern Yemen.
Freelance journalist Hisham al-Baqiri died while on duty at a front in Taiz province, Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani said on Twitter.
Al-Baqiri previously worked for international and local media organizations.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/journalist-dies-in-clashes-btw-army-houthis-in-yemen/2196744
(A K)
At least 30 Saudi-led troops killed, including commanding officers, in Jawf
(A K pH)
[Sanaa gov.] Army hits Khaled airbase
The army's drones on Thursday hit Khaled airbase in Khamis Mushait, armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari'e said.
Sari'e added two drones of Qasef-2k targeted the airbase, adding the two drones hit the targets accurately.
https://www.saba.ye/en/news3135012.htm
and also https://english.almasirah.net/post/18652/Yemeni-Drones-Hit-King-Khalid-Air-Base%2C-Khamis-Mushait
and
(A K pS)
Arab Coalition intercepts 2 Houthi explosive drones fired at Saudi’s Khamis Mushait
(A K pH)
Air Force Conducts Retaliatory Attacks on Riyadh
Armed Forces spokesman announced on Thursday that the Yemeni Air Force has carried out retaliatory attacks targeting important and sensitive targets in Saudi Arabia.
“The Air Force carried out an offensive operation in the capital of the Saudi enemy, Riyadh, with four drones targeting sensitive and important sites,” Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e said in a brief statement.
“The hit was accurate,” he added.
Sare’e stressed that the retaliatory drone attacks come within the framework of Yemen’s natural and legitimate right to respond to the ongoing aggression and siege.
He warned the coalition of aggression that "our operations will continue as long as the aggression and siege continue."
https://english.almasirah.net/post/18643/Air-Force-Conducts-Retaliatory-Attacks-on-Riyadh
and also https://www.saba.ye/en/news3134917.htm
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/04/01/yemeni-drone-strikes-hit-riyadh/
(A K pS)
Child killed by Houthi-laid mine in west Taiz
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32604
(A K)
Houthi snipers shoot dead one woman, injure two others in Yemen’s Taiz
Houthi snipers have shot dead one woman and injured two other women in Yemen’s central city of Taiz, local sources said. The woman killed was in Maqbanah and the injured were in Madarat, west of Taiz, on Monday.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46042
(A K)
Houthi sniper hits two women in Taiz
Two women were seriously injured when a Houthi sniper hit them while they were grazing cattle in the Madarat area in Yemen's Taiz province on Monday, local sources said.
They were rushed to hospital, the sources said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24140.html
(* B K)
Saudi Air Defense Stops Most Houthi Strikes
A record number of ballistic missile and drone attacks have tested Saudi air defense capabilities. They've succeeded admirably but at a high cost.
“The accomplishments of the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) are impressive… The RSADF is now the global leader in (ballistic) missile intercepts,” said David DesRoches, a professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University in Washington DC.
DesRoches pointed out that the RSADF “has in effect modernized itself while at war. There is no evidence that any Houthi ballistic missile fired into the interior of Saudi Arabia. This is an amazing achievement.”
“Most missiles and drones hit nothing, even if not intercepted. Most drones have tiny payloads that are not designed to causes personnel losses,” said Michael Knights, a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “We also let a lot of missiles and rockets go because we can tell them are not hitting anything.”
The Saudi Air Force has been using the Patriot PAC-3 as its main ballistic missiles defense system. It is also equipped with a variety of short- and medium-range surface-to-air missiles such as the Improved Hawk, Shahine and Mistral.
The Royal Saudi Air Force is the only one in the Middle East that operates the Boeing E-3A Sentry commonly known as AWACS, which along with 2 SAAB-2000 Erieye planes, helps provide a strong early warning capability that is crucial for an effective air defense.
DesRoches said that the Iranians have been developing their tactics in the missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, and have been looking for “a seam in the air coverage” to exploit it.
“The Saudis are adapting to this by shifting their sensor packages, relocating and enhancing their interceptors, and it appears to be they are conducting better vulnerability analysis of their defended asset list to ensure they protect things that are truly critical,” DesRoches said.
Kinghts agreed: “Saudi air defense against ballistic missiles has been decent and improving.”
He noted that attempts by the Houthis to hit targets deep into Saudi Arabia have failed because “drones are proving susceptible to interception when they travel long distances.”
However, the Yemen conflict has proved to be a costly war of attrition to the Saudis who are forced to allocate a lot of much needed funds to consolidate their air defense capabilities, in addition to the military operations in Yemen.
“The Saudi Patriot missiles cost about $4.3M each – they fire at least two at each incoming target. The price of each Iranian missile cost a fraction of that,” DesRoches said.
“Ultimately, the fact that so many missiles are being intercepted in the Kingdom means that the Kingdom has been unsuccessful in deterring those who would attack it” Des Roches added. “It is very difficult to determine and interdict missile points of launch.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2021/03/saudi-air-defense-stops-most-houthi-strikes/
cp17a Kriegsereignisse: Schlacht um Marib / Theater of War: Marib battle
Siehe / Look at cp4
(* B K)
Houthis hold government forces responsible for attacks on IDPs in Marib
The Ansar Allah group, referred to as the Houthis, on Wednesday held the forces of the internationally recognised government fully responsible for attacks and selling on the displacement camps in Yemen's Marib province.
The government forces are using the displacement camps as shields to protect their camps and this is a criminal behaviour, the group's spokesperson and chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam wrote on Twitter.
The government forces, Daesh and Al-Qaeda are stationed at the displacement camps, he claimed.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24196.html
and
(B K)
Houthi spokesman and chief negotiator justified their attacks on IDPs camps in Yemen's Marib province by claiming Gov't forces, Daesh and Qaeda are using IDPs to prevent collapse of their military camps. Other Houthi officials said "displacement camps are legitimate targets".
https://twitter.com/FuadRajeh/status/1377375432513777669
referring to https://twitter.com/abdusalamsalah/status/1377213956935319559
and also claimed by the Sanaa gov. Dep. Fotreign Minitsr: https://english.almasirah.net/post/18644/United-Nations-Allows-Al-Qaeda-to-Use-Displaced-as-Human-Shields
and
(B K pH)
Film: Footage from the camps of displaced persons in #Marib showing the military activity of the US-Saudi aggression coalition and its mercenaries and them using the displaced as human shields 01-04-2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRejtQSkReM = https://twitter.com/AnsarAllah_MC/status/1377678995915997185
and alaso https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oZ6sWARBbQ
My comment: It’s just some cars; this footage isn’t convincing at all.
and
(A K pS)
If valid, this leaked Houthi document, in view of growing international condemnation of assaults on #Marib, orders Houthi media to claim AQAP presence in Marib & IDP camps
Fighters to invade IDP camps & accusé GoY of using IDPs as human shields
Spread disinformation (document)
https://twitter.com/Ibrahim4Yemen/status/1377720267225587719
and
(A K pS)
Yemeni gov't warns Houthis provoke against IDPs in Marib
The Yemeni UN-recognized government on Thursday warned of serious ramifications of rhetoric adopted by the Houthi group provoking against IDPs in the northeastern governorate of Marib.
The Houthis are carrying out "a systematical incendiary campaign against IDP camps in Marib to hide their crimes of targeting these camps," the camps' administrative unit said, as the campaign "amounts to terrorist threats."
In a statement, the unit called on the UN and international community to condemn the remarks recently issued by Houthi spokesman, Mohamed Abdul Salam, inciting against IDPs and justifying the persistent bombardment targeting their camps.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24226.html
(A K)
Yemeni gov't security leader killed in Marib
Marib special forces' operation officer was killed on Wednesday along with some of his bodyguards in the northeastern governorate, security and tribal sources said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24180.html
(A K pH)
[Sanaa gov.] Yemeni Armed Forces Advance Further Towards Heart of Ma’rib
(A P)
Photos: #Marib first football stadium will be inaugurated soon. Meanwhile, #Houthis continue their wide-scale offensive against the governorate for 54 consecutive day.
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1377120342229929989
(A H K pS)
Photos: Houthi shelling displacing more IDPs in al-Mail camp northwest #Marib
https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1376899457791430661
(A H K pS)
More than 550 families have left some IDPs camps in Marib due to Houthi shelling in the past days, the Executive Unit for the Management of IDPs Camps has said/Multiple news websites.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46043
(A K pS)
Yemen: Houthi ballistic missile kills civilian, injures 6 others in Marib
Houthis have killed a civilian and injured six others in a fresh ballistic missile attack on Marib, a government-held city populated mostly by refugees, on Tuesday morning, local sources said.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46044
and also https://debriefer.net/en/news-24171.html
Photo: https://twitter.com/Alsakaniali/status/1376902244449320962
cp18 Kampf um Hodeidah / Hodeidah battle
Seit dem Abkommen von Stockholm vom 13. Dezember 2018 gibt es einen Waffenstillstand für Hodeidah. Zwar bleiben größere Offensiven aus, kleinere Gefechte gibt es aber laufend, und beide Seiten werfen sich ständig Verstöße gegen den Waffenstillstand vor.
Since the Stockholm Agreement of December 13, 2018, a ceasefire has been in place for Hodeidah. There are no major offensives, but smaller battles are going on and both sides constantly are accusing each other of violating the ceasefire.
(A K pS)
29 Testimonies on Houthi abuses in west Yemen collected
http://en.adenpress.news/news/32614
(B H K pS)
Film: Houthi mine killed the citizen (Yahya); It leaves four orphan children who face the distress of life on their own
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LkRRWguE38
(B K pS)
Film: 18 martyrs and wounded civilians by Houthi fire during the month of March on the West Coast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDL3VV76Nis
(A K pS)
A 28-year old civilian man was killed in Khowkha of Hodeidah in the explosion of a Houthi-laid landmine/Akhbar Taiz.
https://www.alsahwa-yemen.net/en/p-46043
(A K)
Deaths, injuries following Houthi attack fended off in Hodeida
The Yemeni Joint Forces have fended off a Houthi massive attack on the southeastern part of Hais, a district in the western governorate of Hodeida, Giant Brigades' media center said Tuesday.
The Houthi group "pushed crowds of it fighters from Nakhla area.. in a desperate attempt to infiltrate front lines, sparking fierce battles between the two sides," the center added.
The fighting left tens of Houthis killed or wounded, according to the center.
"Violent clashes continued for more than an hour between the two rivals who used different weapons, leaving 4 deaths and seven casualties from both parties," Yemeni military sources said.
https://debriefer.net/en/news-24151.html
(A K pH)
Civilian murdered by Saudi mercenaries in Hodeidah
A Yemeni citizen was killed and another injured on Tuesday, as a result of a shooting that was conducted by Saudi-led coalition mercenaries in Tuhayta district,
https://hodhodyemennews.net/2021/03/30/civilian-murdered-by-saudi-mercenaries-in-hodeidah/
(A K pH)
Daily violations, as claimed by the Houthis
cp19 Sonstiges / Other
(B H P)
Yemen’s Jewish Population, Once Over 50,000, Drops to Below 10
Tens of thousands of Yemeni Jews left for Israel shortly after its establishment as a state in 1948, spurred by the wave of antisemitism across the Arab world that the founding had triggered (paywalled)
(B H)
"Die verschleierte Frau besitzt eine übernatürliche Kraft"
Als Grenzgängerin zwischen Ost und West hat die jemenitische Fotografin Bushra Al-Mutawakel die westlichen Wertvorstellungen über den Körper der Frau studiert, sie adaptiert und dagegen revoltiert.
Mit ihrer Kunst versucht Bushra Al-Mutawakel nichts weniger als das Spannungsfeld zwischen weiblicher Selbstbestimmung und sexueller Diskriminierung zu reflektieren. Sie tut es, indem sie die Vorurteile über den Hidschab und den Nikab im Westen dekonstruiert, aber auch die autoritären Tendenzen im Osten aufgreift, die den Körper der Frau von aussen definieren wollen.
Ihre Arbeit ist der Versuch, normative Ideen herauszufordern und einen alternativen Diskurs zu etablieren. Entsprechend sind ihre Fotografien voller Gegensätze. Sie vermischen Tradition und Moderne, vertauschen als männlich und als weiblich verstandene Attribute.
Al-Mutawakel sagt, das Streben danach, Frauen mit dem Hidschab oder Nikab zu bedecken, werde in ihrer Kunst als Autoritätsgeste einer Stammesgemeinschaf entlarvt. Gleichzeitig stellt sie die Schönheitsstandards kapitalistischer Gesellschaften als ein Instrument dar, mit dem eine modernistische Kontraautorität festgeschrieben wird.
(-)
Beautiful photos from Socotra Island
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1377994304388530178
https://twitter.com/AhmadAlgohbary/status/1377994950214873091
(* -)
Hadramauth photos
https://www.imageselect.eu/de/bilder-fotos/hadramaut.html
https://www.imageselect.eu/de/bilder-fotos/hadramaut_2.html?enlarge%3Dtrue
(-)
E-book-Download:
Vision of Yemen: The Travels of a European Orientalist and His Native Guide, a Translation of Hayyim Habshush's Travelogue BY : Alan Verskin
(-)
Film: Amid Dire Humanitarian Conditions, Taiz Families Prepare for Ramadan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CCM02J1-jU
Vorige / Previous:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose/jemenkrieg-mosaik-732-yemen-war-mosaic-732
Jemenkrieg-Mosaik 1-732 / Yemen War Mosaic 1-732:
https://www.freitag.de/autoren/dklose oder / or http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
Der saudische Luftkrieg im Bild / Saudi aerial war images:
(18 +, Nichts für Sensible!) / (18 +; Graphic!)
http://poorworld.net/YemenWar.htm
http://yemenwarcrimes.blogspot.de/
Liste aller Luftangriffe / and list of all air raids:
http://yemendataproject.org/data/
Untersuchung ausgewählter Luftangriffe durch Bellingcat / Bellingcat investigations of selected air raids:
Untersuchungen von Angriffen, hunderte von Filmen / Investigations of attacks, hundreds of films:
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