September 18, 2019

IRAN: President Rohani Blames Saudi Arabia, Israel, U.S. For Starting War in Yemen. Oooh Dear Lord! Iran Sent Their Islamist Militant Group Called The Houthis To Overthrow The Yemen Government.

Haaretz News
written by Reuters staff
Wednesday September 18, 2019

Iranian president said Houthis attacked Saudi oil facilities as a 'warning' after Saudi-led coalition attacked civilian centers

Iran's President Hassan Rohani said on Wednesday Tehran did not want conflict in the region and accused the United States and a Saudi-led military coalition of starting a war in Yemen, according to Iranian news agencies.

"We don't want conflict in the region... Who started the conflict? Not the Yemenis. It was Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, America, certain European countries and the Zionist regime (Israel) which started the war in this region," Rohani said in a video carried by Iran's media.

Rohani said Iran-aligned Houthis had attacked Saudi oil facilities at the weekend as a "warning", after attacks on hospitals, schools and markets in Yemen which have been blamed on the Saudi-led coalition.

"Rejecting comments about Iran's role in the operation, (Hatami) said the issue is very clear: there has been a conflict between two countries (Yemen and Saudi Arabia)," the semi-official Tasnim news agency said.

Saudi Arabia said it would show evidence on Wednesday linking Tehran to the unprecedented attack on its oil industry that Washington believes originated from Iran.

Yemen's Houthi group, an ally of Iran, has claimed responsibility and said they used drones to assault state oil company Aramco's sites.

A U.S. official told Reuters the strikes originated in southwestern Iran. Three officials said they involved cruise missiles and drones, indicating a higher degree of complexity and sophistication than initially thought.
Reuters News
written by by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Gareth Jones
Friday August 13, 2019

DUBAI - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pledged on Tuesday Tehran’s continued support for Yemen’s Houthi movement and called for dialogue among Yemenis to safeguard the war-shattered nation’s territorial integrity.

A Saudi-led coalition has been battling to restore Yemen’s ousted government in a devastating four-year war with the Iranian-aligned Houthis that has killed tens of thousands and pushed the impoverished country to the brink of famine.

The Houthis, who control the capital Sanaa and most of Yemen’s other populous areas, have stepped up attacks in recent months against targets in Saudi Arabia, Iran’s arch regional foe. In response, a Saudi-led coalition has targeted military sites belonging to the Houthis, especially around Sanaa.

“I declare my support for the resistance of Yemen’s believing men and women ... Yemen’s people... will establish a strong government,” state TV quoted Khamenei as saying in a meeting with the visiting chief negotiator of the Houthi movement Mohammed Abdul-Salam.

Khamenei, who held talks for the first time in Tehran with a senior Houthi representative, also called for “strong resistance against the Saudi-led plots to divide Yemen”, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

“A unified and coherent Yemen with sovereign integrity should be endorsed. Given Yemen’s religious and ethnic diversity, protecting Yemen’s integrity requires domestic dialogue,” he said, TV reported.
This article started by stating the Supreme Leader of Iran pledged continued support to the Houthis Islamic militant group that were used by Iran to overthrow the Yemen government. Then Iran has the nerve to call the U.S. and Gulf Arab allies liars for saying Iran is providing military and financial support WHICH THEY ARE and even admitted to doing. Twisted. Read the next paragraph. 👇
(emphasis mine)
Iran’s clerical rulers reject accusations from the United States and its Gulf Arab allies that Tehran is providing military and financial support to the Houthis and blames Riyadh for the deepening crisis there.

The violence in Yemen is widely seen as a proxy war between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Iran.

The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia’s main military ally on the ground for most of the war, has drawn down its forces in Yemen since June.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the Houthi delegation, which arrived in Tehran a few days ago, had handed a letter to Khamenei from the movement’s leader, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, but gave no details.
The Foreign Desk
written by Lisa Daftari
Thursday February 9, 2017

The Hezbollah terror group has launched an online ‘crowdfunding’ drive inviting supporters to contribute toward the group’s purchasing of military equipment and gear for its militants.

The Lebanese-based terror group has created a series banners featuring helmets, bullet-proof vests, guns and ammunition with telephone numbers prominently displayed advising how to contribute.

“Mujahids on glorious battlefronts are in need of clothing and military equipment,” a statement on the website reads.

An accompanying video shows a Hezbollah fighter adjusting his military fatigues, preparing for conflict.

There is also a custom hashtag “equip a mujhaid,” that the group has been circulating to increase viral activity of the campaign on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

‘Financial jihad’ is nothing new, according to a website promoting the money-raising campaign; Rather, constant rejuvenation and reminders are needed so that those who can afford to contribute can fulfill their requirement to perform Jihad as prescribed by the Koran.

The website features a set of telephone numbers spread across regions in Lebanon and also provides a number for “international relations” as well as a special “women’s division.”

Hezbollah’s primary source of funding comes from Iran’s government and is estimated by the U.S. to be at around $100 million per year, though some analysts believe the figure could be as high as $200 million annually.

Iran’s regime also profits extensively from drug cartels across South America, funneling those funds to Hezbollah and the financing of other terror activities.

Critics in the Arab world have ridiculed the campaign as a sign of a weakness on Hezbollah’s part, questioning whether the terror group is ‘running a little low on resources.’

“Iran’s finances are running scarce due to its immersion in regional and international conflict,” one Lebanese anti-Hezbollah newspaper said, a reference to Iran’s involvements in conflicts across the Middle East.

Iranian involvement in the Syria conflict has been widely documented, with reports that as many as 70,000 troops have been deployed to the war-ravaged country.

At least 1000 Iranian soldiers have died in the conflict.

Iran has also been accused of running an ‘arms pipeline’ to Yemen’s Houthi rebels fighting a bloody civil war against a Saudi-backed campaign supporting the internationally recognized government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah remains a continued threat to Israel. Described by the country’s defense establishment as the number one threat to Israel, the once guerilla-like army has been emboldened by the experiences of fighting a ‘real war’ in Syria and smuggling ‘game changing weaponry’ into Lebanon.
Obama was President during this time when he handed Yemen over to Iran just like Obama handed over Crimea to Russia. Obama didn't bother helping our US allies Yemen and Saudi Arabia begging us for help against Iran overthrowing Yemen government. Obama didn't bother helping Ukraine begging us for help when Russia stole Crimea territory from Ukraine. 👇 (emphasis mine)
The Washington Free Beacon
written by Staff
March 20, 2015

An Iranian ship unloaded 185 tons of weapons and military equipment at a Houthi-controlled al-Saleef port in Yemen, al Arabiya reports.

The Houthi militias reportedly closed the port and denied entrance to employees there. Al-Saleef port is considered the second most vital in Yemen.

The news follows last week’s economic partnership agreements between Iran and the Houthis, including a deal that promises a year’s worth of oil supply from Iran.

Iran has also agreed to provide Yemen with a 200 megawatt power plant, according to Yemeni news agency Saba.

Yemen is torn by a power struggle between the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the north, and the internationally-recognized President Abedrabbu Mansorur Hadi, who has set up a rival seat in the south with the backing of Sunni-led Gulf Arab states.
The Washington Post
written by Craig Whitlock
March 17, 2015

The Pentagon is unable to account for more than $500 million in U.S. military aid given to Yemen, amid fears that the weaponry, aircraft and equipment is at risk of being seized by Iranian-backed rebels or al-Qaeda, according to U.S. officials.

With Yemen in turmoil and its government splintering, the Defense Department has lost its ability to monitor the whereabouts of small arms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, patrol boats, vehicles and other supplies donated by the United States. The situation has grown worse since the United States closed its embassy in Sanaa, the capital, last month and withdrew many of its military advisers.

In recent weeks, members of Congress have held closed-door meetings with U.S. military officials to press for an accounting of the arms and equipment. Pentagon officials have said that they have little information to go on and that there is little they can do at this point to prevent the weapons and gear from falling into the wrong hands.

“We have to assume it’s completely compromised and gone,” said a legislative aide on Capitol Hill who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

U.S. military officials declined to comment for the record. A defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon, said there was no hard evidence that U.S. arms or equipment had been looted or confiscated. But the official acknowledged that the Pentagon had lost track of the items.

“Even in the best-case scenario in an unstable country, we never have 100 percent accountability,” the defense official said.

Yemen’s government was toppled in January by Shiite Houthi rebels who receive support from Iran and have strongly criticized U.S. drone strikes in Yemen. The Houthis have taken over many Yemeni military bases in the northern part of the country, including some in Sanaa that were home to U.S.-trained counterterrorism units. Other bases have been overrun by fighters from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

As a result, the Defense Department has halted shipments to Yemen of about $125 million in military hardware that were scheduled for delivery this year, including unarmed ScanEagle drones, other types of aircraft and Jeeps. That equipment will be donated instead to other countries in the Middle East and Africa, the defense official said.

Although the loss of weapons and equipment already delivered to Yemen would be embarrassing, U.S. officials said it would be unlikely to alter the military balance of power there. Yemen is estimated to have the second-highest gun ownership rate in the world, ranking behind only the United States, and its bazaars are well stocked with heavy weaponry. Moreover, the U.S. government restricted its lethal aid to small firearms and ammunition, brushing aside Yemeni requests for fighter jets and tanks.

In Yemen and elsewhere, the Obama administration has pursued a strategy of training and equipping foreign militaries to quell insurgencies and defeat networks affiliated with al-Qaeda. That strategy has helped to avert the deployment of large numbers of U.S. forces, but it has also met with repeated challenges.

Making progress has been difficult. In 2011, the Obama administration suspended counterterrorism aid and withdrew its military advisers after then-President Ali Abdullah Saleh cracked down against Arab Spring demonstrators. The program resumed the next year when Saleh was replaced by his vice president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, in a deal brokered by Washington.

In a 2013 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the primary unclassified counterterrorism program in Yemen lacked oversight and that the Pentagon had been unable to assess whether it was doing any good.

Among other problems, GAO auditors found that Humvees donated to the Yemeni Interior Ministry sat idle or broken because the Defense Ministry refused to share spare parts. The two ministries also squabbled over the use of Huey II helicopters supplied by Washington, according to the report.

A senior U.S. military official who has served extensively in Yemen said that local forces embraced their training and were proficient at using U.S. firearms and gear but that their commanders, for political reasons, were reluctant to order raids against al-Qaeda.

“They could fight with it and were fairly competent, but we couldn’t get them engaged” in combat, the military official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with a reporter.

All the U.S.-trained Yemeni units were commanded or overseen by close relatives of Saleh, the former president. Most were gradually removed or reassigned after Saleh was forced out in 2012. But U.S. officials acknowledged that some of the units have maintained their allegiance to Saleh and his family.

According to an investigative report released by a U.N. panel last month, the former president’s son, Ahmed Ali Saleh, looted an arsenal of weapons from the Republican Guard after he was dismissed as commander of the elite unit two years ago. The weapons were transferred to a private military base outside Sanaa that is controlled by the Saleh family, the U.N. panel found.

It is unclear whether items donated by the U.S. government were stolen, although Yemeni documents cited by the U.N. investigators alleged that the stash included thousands of M-16 rifles, which are manufactured in the United States.

The list of pilfered equipment also included dozens of Humvees, Ford vehicles and Glock pistols, all of which have been supplied in the past to Yemen by the U.S. government. Ahmed Saleh denied the looting allegations during an August 2014 meeting with the U.N. panel, according to the report.

Many U.S. and Yemeni officials have accused the Salehs of conspiring with the Houthis to bring down the government in Sanaa. At Washington’s urging, the United Nations imposed financial and travel sanctions in November against the former president, along with two Houthi leaders, as punishment for destabilizing Yemen.

Ali Abdullah Saleh has dismissed the accusations; last month, he told The Washington Post that he spends most of his time these days reading and recovering from wounds he suffered during a bombing attack on the presidential palace in 2011.

There are clear signals that Saleh and his family are angling for a formal return to power. On Friday, hundreds of people staged a rally in Sanaa to call for presidential elections and for Ahmed Saleh to run.

Although the U.S. Embassy in the capital closed last month, a handful of U.S. military advisers have remained in the southern part of the country at Yemeni bases controlled by commanders that are friendly to the United States.

Posted by Princess Mononoke at 3:16 AM

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