Free Republic

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...

Yemen's beleaguered government said Saudi-led airstrikes against its Houthi militia opponents would not last long on the second day of a Gulf Arab-led campaign against the Iranian-allied militia that could escalate a proxy conflict spreading through the region. Warplanes targeted Houthi forces controlling Yemen's capital and their northern heartland on Friday and, in a boost for Riyadh, fellow monarchy Morocco said it would join the rapidly-assembled Sunni Muslim coalition against the Shi'ite Muslim group. Tribes in Yemen's oil producing Marib region said they supported the air campaign, but Houthi forces advanced south despite the airstrikes and Pakistan, named by Saudi...

With Saudi and allies striking Iranian-backed fighters, Israel and Jewish Agency increasingly frustrated by refusal of handful of Jews left in the country to leave. Israel is closely following developments in Yemen, where Gulf states are bombing Iranian-backed fighters, and has expressed deep concern over the fate of the last few Jews in the country. Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a series of air strikes overnight Wednesday, battling Iranian-backed Houthi fighters who have captured swathes of the country. Israel believes that there are less than 100 Jews remaining in Yemen. Most of that number is concentrated in Sanaa, which...

TEHRAN — Iran condemned regional rival Saudi Arabia on Thursday for launching air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying it was “a dangerous step” that violated “international responsibilities and national sovereignty.” Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said that the military action would “further complicate the situation, spread the crisis and remove opportunities for a peaceful resolution of Yemen’s internal differences.” “The fact that Saudi Arabia has fanned the flames of a new war in the region shows its carelessness,” he said, in comments carried by the Fars news agency. “The smoke of this fire will go into the eyes...

US officials confirm to @NBCNews that Saudi Arabia has started bombing rebel positions inside #Yemen. NO indication of troops crossing in.

Secret intelligence files held by Yemeni security forces and containing details of American intelligence operations in the country have been looted by Iran-backed militia leaders, exposing names of informants and plans for U.S.-backed counter-terrorism operations, U.S. officials say. U.S. intelligence officials believe additional files were handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militias that seized control of the capital of Sana last September and later toppled the U.S.-backed president. For American intelligence networks in Yemen, the damage has been severe. Until recently, U.S. forces deployed in Yemen had worked closely with President Abdu...

For far too long, the Iranian-backed Houthi movement was left to meddle in Yemen. Now, while one realizes that war should always be used as a last resort and that every effort to use political and peaceful means should be exhausted; the reality is time after time, Iran and its agents continue to prove that they can’t be trusted and that they will always behave as the rogue players that they are. Saudi Arabia and its allies – who up until now include all GCC states (excluding Oman), Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Morocco and Pakistan - answered the call with Operation:...

Houthi rebels took all U.S. Embassy vehicles parked at the Yemeni capital's airport and wouldn't allow departing U.S. Marines to take their weapons with them, a top airport official in Sanaa said Wednesday. The actions come after the United States, along with Britain, suspended operations at their respective embassies and moved out staffers because of the instability in the Arab nation.

The United States is closing its embassy in Yemen amid political deadlock and deteriorating security conditions after the takeover of the country by Shiite rebels, two U.S. officials said. The officials said diplomats were being evacuated from the country on Tuesday and the embassy will suspend operations until conditions improve. Yemen has been in crisis for months with Iran-linked Shiite Houthi rebels besieging the capital and then taking control. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the closure publicly on the record.