Iran
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From: Japan
From Al ArabiyaAccording to Fars' news report, Fakhrizadeh and his wife were on their way to spend the weekend at their house in the suburbs of Tehran.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
There were three security cars with them, and at a certain point, the leading vehicle left the motorcade to do a preliminary security check of the house. Right after the car at the front of the motorcade left, shots were fired on Fakhrizadeh's car, and it stopped. Fakhrizadeh stepped out of the car, thinking his vehicle hit an object on the road or there was a problem with the engine, the report added.
The report mentioned that shots were fired again from a Nisan pickup truck, which was parked 150 meters from Fakhrizadeh's car. The shots were fired from an automatic machine gun, which was mounted on the truck and has been operated by remote control.
Three bullets hit Fakhrizadeh – one hit him in the spine, the Nisan pickup truck then exploded in what appeared to be a self-destruct mechanism, added the report.
According to Fars news, Iranian intelligence has identified the pickup truck owner; he had left Iran one month ago.
For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
There were three security cars with them, and at a certain point, the leading vehicle left the motorcade to do a preliminary security check of the house. Right after the car at the front of the motorcade left, shots were fired on Fakhrizadeh's car, and it stopped. Fakhrizadeh stepped out of the car, thinking his vehicle hit an object on the road or there was a problem with the engine, the report added.
The report mentioned that shots were fired again from a Nisan pickup truck, which was parked 150 meters from Fakhrizadeh's car. The shots were fired from an automatic machine gun, which was mounted on the truck and has been operated by remote control.
Three bullets hit Fakhrizadeh – one hit him in the spine, the Nisan pickup truck then exploded in what appeared to be a self-destruct mechanism, added the report.
According to Fars news, Iranian intelligence has identified the pickup truck owner; he had left Iran one month ago.
Joined: May 2011
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From: NEW YORK
The sooner the US is shot of Trump the better, the guy isn't playing with a full deck of cards, watching him on CNN and his irate rantings it is sad to see, he is not all there, and this guy is in a position to cause havoc in the region over the next month or so.
I can see him totally falling apart when he is finally ousted from the White House, what I cannot believe is how a lot of Americans just can't see he is not the full ticket.
I can see him totally falling apart when he is finally ousted from the White House, what I cannot believe is how a lot of Americans just can't see he is not the full ticket.
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From: Falling off the end of the thread
There has been speculation that his Covid illness had left him impaired. Also, he must be under considerable stress, his legal and financial issues post White House loom large.
I know a lot is being made in the press of him standing again, but I can't see it, I imagine his popularity will wane when he is no longer your President and those that have cowered under is coat tails and not put the Country before themselves will re-emerge and condem him, and as for the daughter running.... The Kennedy's they are not.
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From: Washington.
Then I hope he gets the help he needs and those around him ensure he does not do anything foolish in the last couple of months of his term...I do feel over Covid he has let the Country down badly and the Country is now lacking the leadership it needs with whats going on at home and abroad, especially now in Iran.
I know a lot is being made in the press of him standing again, but I can't see it, I imagine his popularity will wane when he is no longer your President and those that have cowered under is coat tails and not put the Country before themselves will re-emerge and condem him, and as for the daughter running.... The Kennedy's they are not.
I know a lot is being made in the press of him standing again, but I can't see it, I imagine his popularity will wane when he is no longer your President and those that have cowered under is coat tails and not put the Country before themselves will re-emerge and condem him, and as for the daughter running.... The Kennedy's they are not.
Joined: May 2011
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From: NEW YORK
He has been trying to shift the country away from its global imperial pretensions as well as from its dependency on 'lower cost' foreign production, both unpopular concepts in the Washington bubble.
Consider how little support even the obviously imperative withdrawals from Afghanistan and Syria are getting in the foreign policy and military establishments.
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From: Under a recently defunct flight path.
Report in The Guardian.
Iran seizes South Korean tanker as tensions with US mount
Click for rest of article & photo.
Iran seizes South Korean tanker as tensions with US mount
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a South Korean vessel “for polluting the Persian Gulf with chemicals”, amid rising tensions between Iran and the US during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Iranian news agencies published photos showing Guards speed boats escorting the tanker MT Hankuk Chemi and said the vessel’s crew members, including nationals of South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar, had been detained. The tanker is being held at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city.
South Korea’s foreign ministry demanded the vessel’s immediate release and said South Korean forces stationed in the Strait of Hormuz had been dispatched to the area.
The incident came before an expected visit by South Korea’s deputy foreign minister to Tehran, and against the backdrop of rising tensions between Iran and the Trump administration.
Iranian news agencies published photos showing Guards speed boats escorting the tanker MT Hankuk Chemi and said the vessel’s crew members, including nationals of South Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar, had been detained. The tanker is being held at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city.
South Korea’s foreign ministry demanded the vessel’s immediate release and said South Korean forces stationed in the Strait of Hormuz had been dispatched to the area.
The incident came before an expected visit by South Korea’s deputy foreign minister to Tehran, and against the backdrop of rising tensions between Iran and the Trump administration.
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: Under a recently defunct flight path.
Update in The Guardian.
South Korean forces arrive in waters near strait of Hormuz amid Iran tensions
South Korean forces arrive in waters near strait of Hormuz amid Iran tensions
South Korean forces have arrived in waters near the strait of Hormuz as pressure builds on Iran to free a South Korean tanker it seized along with its crew on Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had taken control of the South Korean vessel, the Hankuk Chemi, and its 20 crew because it was “polluting the Persian Gulf with chemicals”. The tanker is being held at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city.
The Choi Young, a destroyer carrying members of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit, arrived in the strategically important area on Tuesday, as officials in Seoul sought a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
Officials stressed there were no plans to conduct a military operation to free the crew of five South Koreans, 11 Myanmarese, two Indonesians and two Vietnamese, according to the Yonhap news agency.
“[The destroyer] is carrying out missions to ensure the safety of our nationals,” foreign ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said on Tuesday.
An unnamed official told Yonhap: “The issue should be resolved through diplomacy. The unit is focused on the safety of our people who use the waterway after the seizure.”
The Hankuk Chemi’s owner said on Tuesday that Revolutionary Guard troops had stormed the vessel and forced it to change course and travel to Iran. That account contradicts Iranian claims that the ship had been stopped for polluting the waters of the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz.
The South Korean foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, did not comment directly on speculation that Tehran had seized the vessel to pressure Seoul into releasing billions of dollars of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea as part of US sanctions against the regime. Kang said her priority was to “verify the facts and ensure the safety of the crew members”. She added: “We have been trying to figure out what happened through the Iranian embassy in South Korea and the South Korean embassy in Iran and are continuing to make efforts to address the situation.”
There was confusion over plans to send a senior South Korean official to Iran this weekend to negotiate the vessel’s release.
Iranian state TV cited a Tehran government official as saying that the vice foreign minister, Choi Jong-kun, had been due to discuss Iran’s demand that $7bn in frozen funds be released. However, a foreign ministry official in Seoul told Reuters that Choi’s visit was “unclear as of now”. Last Sunday, the Tehran Times newspaper reported Iran was hoping to negotiate an agreement to use the frozen funds to “barter” for coronavirus vaccine doses and other commodities. The Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the Hankuk Chemi, which was carrying 7,200 tonnes of ethanol, “was seized by our force’s [navy] this morning”. They added: “This tanker was headed from Saudi Arabia’s Al Jubail port and was seized due to the repeated infringement of maritime environmental laws.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had taken control of the South Korean vessel, the Hankuk Chemi, and its 20 crew because it was “polluting the Persian Gulf with chemicals”. The tanker is being held at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port city.
The Choi Young, a destroyer carrying members of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit, arrived in the strategically important area on Tuesday, as officials in Seoul sought a diplomatic solution to the standoff.
Officials stressed there were no plans to conduct a military operation to free the crew of five South Koreans, 11 Myanmarese, two Indonesians and two Vietnamese, according to the Yonhap news agency.
“[The destroyer] is carrying out missions to ensure the safety of our nationals,” foreign ministry spokesperson Boo Seung-chan said on Tuesday.
An unnamed official told Yonhap: “The issue should be resolved through diplomacy. The unit is focused on the safety of our people who use the waterway after the seizure.”
The Hankuk Chemi’s owner said on Tuesday that Revolutionary Guard troops had stormed the vessel and forced it to change course and travel to Iran. That account contradicts Iranian claims that the ship had been stopped for polluting the waters of the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz.
The South Korean foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, did not comment directly on speculation that Tehran had seized the vessel to pressure Seoul into releasing billions of dollars of Iranian assets frozen in South Korea as part of US sanctions against the regime. Kang said her priority was to “verify the facts and ensure the safety of the crew members”. She added: “We have been trying to figure out what happened through the Iranian embassy in South Korea and the South Korean embassy in Iran and are continuing to make efforts to address the situation.”
There was confusion over plans to send a senior South Korean official to Iran this weekend to negotiate the vessel’s release.
Iranian state TV cited a Tehran government official as saying that the vice foreign minister, Choi Jong-kun, had been due to discuss Iran’s demand that $7bn in frozen funds be released. However, a foreign ministry official in Seoul told Reuters that Choi’s visit was “unclear as of now”. Last Sunday, the Tehran Times newspaper reported Iran was hoping to negotiate an agreement to use the frozen funds to “barter” for coronavirus vaccine doses and other commodities. The Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the Hankuk Chemi, which was carrying 7,200 tonnes of ethanol, “was seized by our force’s [navy] this morning”. They added: “This tanker was headed from Saudi Arabia’s Al Jubail port and was seized due to the repeated infringement of maritime environmental laws.”
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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From: Peripatetic
https://www.thejc.com/news/world/wor...ealed-1.511653
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Truth behind killing of Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh revealed
WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Truth behind killing of Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh revealed
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Japan
https://gulfheadlines.com/indonesia-...ranian-tanker/
The weapons found were small arms and probably justified in the context of piracy, but the Indonesians seem to have stumbled across an illegal deal going on in some backwaters.
Do the dotted lines connect Iran and North Korea, via China?
The weapons found were small arms and probably justified in the context of piracy, but the Indonesians seem to have stumbled across an illegal deal going on in some backwaters.
Do the dotted lines connect Iran and North Korea, via China?
Joined: Oct 2018
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From: Ferrara
“Investigators found a sniper rifle, three assault rifles, two pistols, and ammunition on the Iranian-flagged tanker MT Horse,”
You wouldn't turn a hair if you found those in a pickup in the middle of Kansas on a Sunday afternoon - just enough to cover against some very poorly armed pirates ..... and illegal deals int Indonesian waters?
I'm shocked,.. shocked...... arrest the usual suspects
You wouldn't turn a hair if you found those in a pickup in the middle of Kansas on a Sunday afternoon - just enough to cover against some very poorly armed pirates ..... and illegal deals int Indonesian waters?
I'm shocked,.. shocked...... arrest the usual suspects
Thread Starter
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Joined: Jul 2000
Aviation Qualifications: Spotter
Posts: 24,509
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From: Peripatetic
60 Minutes: Never-before-seen video of the attack on Al Asad Airbase, Iraq by Iran ? Alert 5
60 Minutes: Never-before-seen video of the attack on Al Asad Airbase, Iraq by Iran
Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, gave the order for U.S. troops to evacuate Al Asad Airbase, Iraq from an impending ballistic missile by Iran only after the Iranians have downloaded the last commercial satellite images fo the base.
60 Minutes: Never-before-seen video of the attack on Al Asad Airbase, Iraq by Iran
Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, gave the order for U.S. troops to evacuate Al Asad Airbase, Iraq from an impending ballistic missile by Iran only after the Iranians have downloaded the last commercial satellite images fo the base.
Joined: Jul 2002
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From: Under a recently defunct flight path.
In The Times:-
Israel launches missiles at Damascus after attack on cargo ship
Israel launches missiles at Damascus after attack on cargo ship
Israel launched air raids on Damascus last night, in apparent retaliation for an attack on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman it blamed on Syria’s ally Iran.
A volley of missiles targeted bases in the south of the Syrian capital said to be occupied by the Iran-backed militias playing a strong role in shoring up the regime of President Assad.
There was no comment from the government in Israel, though it had hinted there would be retaliation for an attack on a cargo ship, the Helios Ray, on Friday. Syrian state media claimed that air defences shot down “most” of the missiles.
The Helios Ray, a car transporter, was flying a Bahamian flag when it was struck after leaving Saudi Arabia, but it is owned by an Israeli businessman. It was struck in four places, though there were no injuries and the vessel made it to port in Dubai for repairs.
Israel’s intelligence community was certain that Iran was behind the attack and on Sunday Lieutenant-General Aviv Kochavi, the chief of staff of the military, blamed Tehran in a speech to officers of the country’s main signals intelligence gathering unit.
“We have received a reminder from one of the greatest threats in the region, and a reminder that Iran is not just a nuclear threat, but that it spreads and carries out terror against civilian targets,” Kochavi said. He promised that Israel would respond to the attack.
This morning, the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu hinted at Israeli responsibility for the raids in Syria, repeating accusations that Iran was to blame for the explosions on the Helios Ray. “It is indeed an Iranian act, that’s clear,” he told the public broadcaster Kan. “Iran is Israel’s greatest enemy, I’m determined to block it, we’re striking at it throughout the region.”
While the government in Tehran has not made any official statement, the Kayhan newspaper, which is close to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote that the Helios Ray may have been “trapped in an ambush by a branch of the resistance axis”. This refers to militias aligned with Iran, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel believes the ship was targeted as retribution for its clandestine operations against Iran, notably the assassination of the head of Iran’s nuclear programme, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, on a road near Tehran in November. There have been several “low-level attacks” against Israeli targets, such as an explosion outside Israel’s embassy in the Indian capital Delhi that also did not cause any injuries.
A senior Israeli officer predicted last month that Iran would try to avoid a confrontation with Israel because it was waiting to see the Biden administration’s first moves, “but it is likely to try and carry out smaller, low-level attacks through its proxies in the region”.
This is despite the onslaught Israel has waged against Iranian and Iranian-backed forces inside Syria in the last five years, a series of hundreds of missile and air raids intended to stop the transfer of weapons to positions on its borders in that country and in Lebanon.
On Friday, the United States also attacked Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias on the Syria-Iraq border. It said the raids were a response to rocket strikes on a US base in northern Iraq that killed two civilian contractors, which it blamed on the same militias.
A volley of missiles targeted bases in the south of the Syrian capital said to be occupied by the Iran-backed militias playing a strong role in shoring up the regime of President Assad.
There was no comment from the government in Israel, though it had hinted there would be retaliation for an attack on a cargo ship, the Helios Ray, on Friday. Syrian state media claimed that air defences shot down “most” of the missiles.
The Helios Ray, a car transporter, was flying a Bahamian flag when it was struck after leaving Saudi Arabia, but it is owned by an Israeli businessman. It was struck in four places, though there were no injuries and the vessel made it to port in Dubai for repairs.
Israel’s intelligence community was certain that Iran was behind the attack and on Sunday Lieutenant-General Aviv Kochavi, the chief of staff of the military, blamed Tehran in a speech to officers of the country’s main signals intelligence gathering unit.
“We have received a reminder from one of the greatest threats in the region, and a reminder that Iran is not just a nuclear threat, but that it spreads and carries out terror against civilian targets,” Kochavi said. He promised that Israel would respond to the attack.
This morning, the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu hinted at Israeli responsibility for the raids in Syria, repeating accusations that Iran was to blame for the explosions on the Helios Ray. “It is indeed an Iranian act, that’s clear,” he told the public broadcaster Kan. “Iran is Israel’s greatest enemy, I’m determined to block it, we’re striking at it throughout the region.”
While the government in Tehran has not made any official statement, the Kayhan newspaper, which is close to the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, wrote that the Helios Ray may have been “trapped in an ambush by a branch of the resistance axis”. This refers to militias aligned with Iran, such as the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Israel believes the ship was targeted as retribution for its clandestine operations against Iran, notably the assassination of the head of Iran’s nuclear programme, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, on a road near Tehran in November. There have been several “low-level attacks” against Israeli targets, such as an explosion outside Israel’s embassy in the Indian capital Delhi that also did not cause any injuries.
A senior Israeli officer predicted last month that Iran would try to avoid a confrontation with Israel because it was waiting to see the Biden administration’s first moves, “but it is likely to try and carry out smaller, low-level attacks through its proxies in the region”.
This is despite the onslaught Israel has waged against Iranian and Iranian-backed forces inside Syria in the last five years, a series of hundreds of missile and air raids intended to stop the transfer of weapons to positions on its borders in that country and in Lebanon.
On Friday, the United States also attacked Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia militias on the Syria-Iraq border. It said the raids were a response to rocket strikes on a US base in northern Iraq that killed two civilian contractors, which it blamed on the same militias.
Joined: May 2009
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From: Southern UK
Interesting Series of Podcasts from Sky News which are mildly relevant to some of this, called "Into the Grey Zone"
https://news.sky.com/story/into-the-...storm-12184704
First episode at the link above, "you can get other episodes from your podcast provider"
https://news.sky.com/story/into-the-...storm-12184704
First episode at the link above, "you can get other episodes from your podcast provider"
Last edited by Levelling_the_Land; 2nd March 2021 at 20:37. Reason: Typo
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,439
Likes: 54
From: Under a recently defunct flight path.
In The Times.
US coalition military base in Iraq hit by ten missiles
US coalition military base in Iraq hit by ten missiles
A US coalition military base in Iraq has come under rocket fire, five days after President Biden retaliated for a previous strike with air raids on Iranian-backed Shia militias in neighbouring Syria.
A volley of ten missiles this morning hit the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar, western Iraq. The Iraqi military and the US-led coalition, which share the base, were still assessing the damage early afternoon local time, but said a civilian contractor had died apparently of a heart attack.
The Vatican insisted that the rocket attacks would not deter the Pope, who is due to make his first visit to Iraq on Friday.
The visit has already been criticised given the prevalence of coronavirus in the country, and fears that services led by Pope Francis might turn into “super-spreader” events.
“The day after tomorrow, God willing, I will go to Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage,” the Pope said in his weekly address today. “For a long time I have wanted to meet these people who have suffered so much.”
Two contractors were killed in a strike two weeks ago against a similar combined base in northern Iraq, outside the Kurdish city of Arbil, which was blamed on Iraqi Shia militias. In response, Biden ordered the bombing of warehouses belonging to what the Pentagon said were the same militias just over the border with Syria, where they are also operating.
Iran denied direct responsibility for the attack, but the exchange has led to a worsening of relations between Washington and Tehran, which had been expected to improve after Biden said he wanted to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
After the Syria strike, Iran refused an offer to join preliminary, informal talks on the nuclear programme hosted by the European Union, saying the US had to lift sanctions before it would respond. It has also continued to increase the capabilities of its programme beyond the limits set by the deal, and begun restricting full access to inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.
The rocket attack this morning was confirmed by a spokesman for the international coalition, whose troops were sent to Iraq in 2014 to help the fight against Islamic State.
Since then, their presence has divided Iraqi politics into pro-western and pro-Iranian factions, the latter of which are demanding the removal of western forces. The US has drawn down its number of troops to about 2,500, with Britain having between 150 and 200 troops in the country, but both say Isis still poses a threat.
Washington is also keen not to allow Iraq to fall entirely under the security umbrella of its powerful and anti-western neighbour, Iran.
The rocket attacks may have a domestic purpose. The Iraqi prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, is under pressure to crack down on the militias, who are also being blamed for the murders of activists in Iraq’s restive southern cities where there have been demonstrations against government corruption and Iranian influence.
A volley of ten missiles this morning hit the Ain al-Asad base in Anbar, western Iraq. The Iraqi military and the US-led coalition, which share the base, were still assessing the damage early afternoon local time, but said a civilian contractor had died apparently of a heart attack.
The Vatican insisted that the rocket attacks would not deter the Pope, who is due to make his first visit to Iraq on Friday.
The visit has already been criticised given the prevalence of coronavirus in the country, and fears that services led by Pope Francis might turn into “super-spreader” events.
“The day after tomorrow, God willing, I will go to Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage,” the Pope said in his weekly address today. “For a long time I have wanted to meet these people who have suffered so much.”
Two contractors were killed in a strike two weeks ago against a similar combined base in northern Iraq, outside the Kurdish city of Arbil, which was blamed on Iraqi Shia militias. In response, Biden ordered the bombing of warehouses belonging to what the Pentagon said were the same militias just over the border with Syria, where they are also operating.
Iran denied direct responsibility for the attack, but the exchange has led to a worsening of relations between Washington and Tehran, which had been expected to improve after Biden said he wanted to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal.
After the Syria strike, Iran refused an offer to join preliminary, informal talks on the nuclear programme hosted by the European Union, saying the US had to lift sanctions before it would respond. It has also continued to increase the capabilities of its programme beyond the limits set by the deal, and begun restricting full access to inspectors from the United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency.
The rocket attack this morning was confirmed by a spokesman for the international coalition, whose troops were sent to Iraq in 2014 to help the fight against Islamic State.
Since then, their presence has divided Iraqi politics into pro-western and pro-Iranian factions, the latter of which are demanding the removal of western forces. The US has drawn down its number of troops to about 2,500, with Britain having between 150 and 200 troops in the country, but both say Isis still poses a threat.
Washington is also keen not to allow Iraq to fall entirely under the security umbrella of its powerful and anti-western neighbour, Iran.
The rocket attacks may have a domestic purpose. The Iraqi prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, is under pressure to crack down on the militias, who are also being blamed for the murders of activists in Iraq’s restive southern cities where there have been demonstrations against government corruption and Iranian influence.
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,439
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From: Under a recently defunct flight path.
Things warming up - or just Iran posturing? In The Times this afternoon.
Houthi missile hits main Saudi oil terminal as US envoy opens talks
Houthi missile hits main Saudi oil terminal as US envoy opens talks
The Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement in Yemen claimed to have carried out a successful missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s main west coast oil terminal in Jeddah today.
The group’s spokesman said that they had used a Quds-2 missile, believed to be a new variant of a Scud missile developed with Iranian assistance. A Quds-2 hit the same facility in the Red Sea port city in November, starting a fire. Saudi Aramco, the giant state-owned oil company that owns the facility, has not confirmed the latest attack.
The attack comes in the middle of an escalation in Yemen’s civil war following pressure from the Biden administration on Saudi Arabia to pull back from its support of the recognised government.
The administration refused to comment on reports overnight that the new US envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, had met Houthi representatives in Oman, which has often played a role in mediating crises in the Gulf.
However, the Houthis have seized the opportunity provided by the new pressure on Saudi Arabia to launch attacks both on the kingdom and on government lines inside Yemen. There has been fierce fighting, killing hundreds of fighters on either side in the last month as the Houthis have pressed an offensive on the key central Yemen city of Marib, which is close to the country’s main oil reserves.
They have also rapidly increased the number of missile attacks over the border into Saudi Arabia. Riyadh reported overnight that its defence systems had intercepted two drones and a missile fired at points in southwest Saudi Arabia.
The situation in Yemen is the first big test of Biden’s determination to “recalibrate” policy towards the Middle East, as his aides have described it. Like President Obama, he believes that engaging diplomatically with Iran, including by rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal, is the best way to bring peace to the region and allow the US to refocus its energies elsewhere.
However, Iran has so far rejected an offer of talks over the nuclear deal, insisting that Biden must rejoin it unconditionally. In Yemen the Saudi-backed government fears that rather than making peace in response to US overtures, the Houthis will seize the military advantage, leading to a division into two of the country.
The group’s spokesman said that they had used a Quds-2 missile, believed to be a new variant of a Scud missile developed with Iranian assistance. A Quds-2 hit the same facility in the Red Sea port city in November, starting a fire. Saudi Aramco, the giant state-owned oil company that owns the facility, has not confirmed the latest attack.
The attack comes in the middle of an escalation in Yemen’s civil war following pressure from the Biden administration on Saudi Arabia to pull back from its support of the recognised government.
The administration refused to comment on reports overnight that the new US envoy to Yemen, Timothy Lenderking, had met Houthi representatives in Oman, which has often played a role in mediating crises in the Gulf.
However, the Houthis have seized the opportunity provided by the new pressure on Saudi Arabia to launch attacks both on the kingdom and on government lines inside Yemen. There has been fierce fighting, killing hundreds of fighters on either side in the last month as the Houthis have pressed an offensive on the key central Yemen city of Marib, which is close to the country’s main oil reserves.
They have also rapidly increased the number of missile attacks over the border into Saudi Arabia. Riyadh reported overnight that its defence systems had intercepted two drones and a missile fired at points in southwest Saudi Arabia.
The situation in Yemen is the first big test of Biden’s determination to “recalibrate” policy towards the Middle East, as his aides have described it. Like President Obama, he believes that engaging diplomatically with Iran, including by rejoining the 2015 nuclear deal, is the best way to bring peace to the region and allow the US to refocus its energies elsewhere.
However, Iran has so far rejected an offer of talks over the nuclear deal, insisting that Biden must rejoin it unconditionally. In Yemen the Saudi-backed government fears that rather than making peace in response to US overtures, the Houthis will seize the military advantage, leading to a division into two of the country.