Secretary of Defense Mark Esper blamed Iran for a series of coordinated attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities following a meeting at the White House to brief President Trump on the situation, saying that the Pentagon was considering its options.
Iran denied on Sunday it was involved in Yemen rebel drone attacks the previous day targeting the world’s biggest oil processing facility and an oil field in Saudi Arabia, just hours after America’s top diplomat alleged that Tehran was behind the ‘unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.’
Drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked the world’s largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia and another major oil field Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.
Saudi Arabia has deployed more troops in southern Yemen to try to contain clashes between nominal allies in the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis that risks further fragmenting the country.
Britain, the US, and France may be complicit in war crimes in Yemen by supporting a Saudi-led coalition that starves civilians as a war tactic, the United Nations has said.
From the minute Hezbollah fired their anti-tank missiles at Israel, the entire Middle East was glued to what might happen next. This is because what is happening in northern Israel pits Iran’s ally against Israel, a key ally of the US, and that has regional implications because Iran’s allies and proxies – from Syria to Iraq and Yemen – are all impacted by how Hezbollah performs and how Israel responds.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged Monday to keep their floundering coalition war against Yemen’s Houthi rebels together after an Emirati troop pullout and the rise of the southern separatists they supported.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specifically singled out Iran in a speech on August 20 at a UN Security Council session on Middle East peace and security challenges.
As Iran seeks to intimidate its way out of US-led economic sanctions, including by seizing tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a top Israeli expert has warned that Israel would be immensely vulnerable if Tehran extends this tactic to a second strategic waterway.
Yemeni separatists have captured the strategically important southern port city of Aden following days of fighting against government-loyal forces.
Iran-backed Huthi rebels say they launched missile and drone attacks on a military parade in Yemen’s southern port of Aden, the headquarters of the Saudi-backed government, that killed more than 30 people.
Two UN Economic and Social Council resolutions passed last week accused and singled out Israel as the only country violating women’s rights, according to UN Watch, a non-governmental organization.
The U.S. House voted Wednesday to block White House plans for select sales of smart bombs and related components to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, baiting President Donald Trump’s veto.
As part of the new sanctions on the regime promised by President Trump Wednesday, the US will revoke waivers for Iran’s non-military nuclear program.
The United States is moving forward with plans to form a military coalition to safeguard strategic shipping lanes off Iran and Yemen amid raised tensions with Iranian leaders.
The U.S. Senate will vote on June 20 on legislation seeking to block $8 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies, as lawmakers’ anger with Riyadh increases.
Iran will not hesitate from stepping up its uranium enrichment to 20%, an Iranian nuclear spokesperson said Monday.
Houthi rebels in Yemen recently shot down a U.S. government-operated drone with assistance from Iran, the U.S. military said in a statement on Sunday.
Yemen’s Houthi movement launched a new drone attack targeting the Abha regional airport in southern Saudi Arabia, the group’s Al-Masirah TV said on Monday.
Saudi forces on Friday intercepted five Yemeni rebel drones in the second aerial attack on an airport in the kingdom’s southwest in two days, a Riyadh-led military coalition fighting the rebels said.