Free Republic

A nine-ship Iranian convoy believed to be laden with weapons bound for rebels in Yemen turned around Thursday after being followed by U.S. warships stationed in the area to prevent arms shipments, multiple sources in the Pentagon told Fox News. The sources said the nine-ship convoy is south of Salalah, Oman, and now headed northeast in the Arabian Sea in the direction of home. The ships, which include seven freighters and two frigates, had sailed southwest along the coast of Yemen heading in the direction of Aden and the entrance to the Red Sea. They appeared to drop anchor in...

Senior U.S. officials pressed Saudi leaders for fear of making matters worse Senior U.S. officials pressed Saudi leaders in a series of messages to quickly wrap up their air campaign in Yemen for fear of making matters worse, people familiar with the matter said, before Riyadh declared Tuesday it was ending the offensive. Yet on Wednesday, Saudi airstrikes resumed in several parts of the country after Iranian-linked Houthi militants took over a military brigade in the southern city of Taiz, provincial security officials said. There was no sign of peace talks, though the Saudis had said they were shifting to...

[Snip]...But Marie Harf, Queen of Nonsense, insists that the carrier group (carriers never travel alone, by the way, they keep missile frigates, destroyers, Aegis cruisers, tenders, and a few submarines around for security) is only there to “ensure the shipping lanes remain open and safe” — and “not to do anything in terms of those Iranian ships.” Any suggestion to the contrary is “blatantly untrue– so this discreet movement of U.S. assets is for a discreet purpose,” Harf said. To paraphrase what Teddy Roosevelt might say: W.T.F!?

Saudi-led coalition jets have bombed Houthi rebels in Yemen's third city of Taiz, hours after announcing the end of a military campaign against them. The strikes followed the fall of the base outside Taiz of an army unit loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Fighting was also reported in the second city of Aden, Lahj's provincial capital Huta, and the town of Daleh. On Tuesday, Riyadh declared its month-long campaign, which sought to restore the president, had achieved its goals. But it warned that it would continue to take action against the Houthis as needed. The UN says at least...