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☆ Who are Yemen's Houthis? Iran-allied group threatens Red Sea shipping
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. The U.S. military said on Sunday three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea. On Oct. 31, the Houthis military spokesperson said the group had a "large number" of ballistic missiles and drones towards Israel. The Houthis fired these missiles at Saudi Arabia dozens of times during the Yemen war. In September, the Houthis displayed anti-aircraft Barq-2 missiles, naval missiles, a Mig-29 fighter jet and helicopters for the first time.

Persons: Houthis, Sanaa, Israel, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Maha, Tom Perry, Christina Fincher Organizations: Galaxy Leader, Houthi Military, REUTERS Acquire, U.S . Central Command, ARSENAL, Saudi, United Arab, Thomson Locations: Red, Iran, Israel, U.S, Houthi, Yemen, Islam, Saudi Arabia, YEMEN, Shi'ite Iran, Saudi, Aden, Sanaa, America, IRAN, Iranian, United Arab Emirates

WAR IN YEMENThe war began in late 2014 when Sanaa was seized by the Houthis. Saudi Arabia has been holding talks with the Houthis in a bid to exit the war. But the Houthi attacks on Israel have increased the risks of conflict for Saudi Arabia. Part of an "Axis of Resistance" backed by Iran, the Houthis have rallied behind the Palestinians since Hamas attacked Israel. The Houthis' slogan is "Death to America, Death to Israel, curse the Jews and victory to Islam".

Persons: Houthis, Sanaa, Yahya Saree, Saree, Nick Macfie Organizations: ISRAEL Houthi, ., AIM, United Arab, Thomson Locations: DUBAI, Israel, Sanaa, Yemen, Islam, Saudi Arabia, YEMEN, Shi'ite Iran, Saudi, Aden, Egypt, Iran, America, IRAN, United Arab Emirates, Iranian

☆ Factbox-What Is the Palestinian Group Hamas?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - The Palestinian group Hamas has launched a surprise attack from Gaza into Israel, in one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years. - Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising. The Hamas takeover of Gaza followed its win in Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 – the last time they were held. - Hamas refuses to recognise the state of Israel and violently opposed the Oslo peace accords negotiated by Israel and the PLO in the mid-1990s. - While its power base is in Gaza, Hamas also has supporters across the Palestinian territories, and it has leaders spread across the Middle East in countries including Qatar.

Persons: Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Deen al, Tom Perry, Ros Russell Organizations: Reuters, Palestinian, Hamas, Islamic Resistance Movement, West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Brigades, Hezbollah Locations: Gaza, Israel, Shi'ite Iran, Egypt, Oslo, United States, European Union, Canada, Japan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, East, Qatar

☆ What is the Palestinian group Hamas?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg Acquire Licensing RightsOct 7 (Reuters) - The Palestinian group Hamas has launched a surprise attack from Gaza into Israel, in one of the most serious escalations in the Israel-Palestinian conflict in years. - Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, was founded in 1987 during the first Palestinian Intifada, or uprising. The Hamas takeover of Gaza followed its win in Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006 – the last time they were held. Its 1988 founding charter called for the destruction of Israel, although Hamas leaders have at times offered a long-term truce, or Hudna in Arabic, with Israel in return for a viable Palestinian state on all Palestinian territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. - While its power base is in Gaza, Hamas also has supporters across the Palestinian territories, and it has leaders spread across the Middle East in countries including Qatar.

Persons: Ilan Rosenberg, Fatah, Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas, Deen al, Tom Perry, Ros Russell Organizations: REUTERS, Palestinian, Hamas, Islamic Resistance Movement, West Bank, Palestine Liberation Organization, PLO, Brigades, Hezbollah, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Ashkelon, Israel, Shi'ite Iran, Egypt, Oslo, United States, European Union, Canada, Japan, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, East, Qatar

☆ Bahrain activist al-Khawaja says airline denied her boarding to Manama
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Aziz El Yaakoubi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Human rights activist Maryam al-Khawaja flashes a "V" sign after being released outside the Airport Police Station, in Muharraq, north of Manama September 18, 2014. Maryam al-Khawaja said she was told at a British Airways' counter at Heathrow Airport that she was not allowed to board her flight and should contact Bahraini immigration authorities. "Effectively we are being denied boarding by British Airways on behalf of the Bahraini government," she said in a video taken in British Airways' check-in area, and posted on X, formerly called Twitter. British Airways did not immediately respond to request for comment. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, also a Danish citizen, is a former president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and is serving a life sentence for his role in Bahrain's pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Persons: Maryam al, Khawaja, Hamad, Mohammed, Abdulhadi al, Maryam, General Agnes Callamard, Olive Moore, Maryam Al, Zainab, Mary Lawlor, Abduljalil, Naji Fateel, " Lawlor, Abdulhadi, Al Khalifa, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Muvija M, Emma Farge, William Maclean, Mark Potter Organizations: Police, REUTERS, Rights, British Airways, Heathrow Airport, Bahraini, Reuters, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: Muharraq, Manama, Rights RIYADH, London, Gulf, Bahrain, Danish, Riyadh, Shi'ite Iran, Teheran

☆ Factbox: Then and now: How Arab states changed course on Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

May 19 (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's attendance at an Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday is the result of big policy shifts by Arab states that once backed his opponents in Syria's civil war. The support was a point of rivalry with another Gulf Arab state, Qatar, which backed Islamist groups espousing ideologies viewed with suspicion by Riyadh. It also worked with the United States in a programme to support rebels deemed moderate by Washington. As some Arab states changed course on Assad, notably the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia showed no sign of bringing him in from the cold. Like other Arab states, Saudi Arabia is also expecting Assad to curb the trade in narcotics smuggled out of Syria.

☆ China's Xi speaks with Saudi crown prince, supports Saudi-Iran talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, March 28 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping spoke by phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, discussing a wide range of subjects including supporting follow-up talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, state media CCTV reported on Tuesday. Xi recently helped broker a surprise deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Middle East rivals, earlier this month to restore diplomatic ties, in a display of China's growing influence in the region which is being warily watched by the United States. Prince Mohammed, who is also the kingdom's prime minister, voiced appreciation for China's initiative to support "efforts to develop good neighbourliness" between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite Iran, Saudi state news agency SPA said. The two leaders stressed the importance of strategic ties between Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, and economic powerhouse China, a main trade partner of Gulf states, it added. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have voiced concern about perceived disengagement by main security guarantor the United States from the region and have moved to diversify partners with an eye on national economic and security interests.

☆ Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet during Muslim holy month
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud attends a news conference at the Arab Gulf Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, December 9, 2022. REUTERS/Ahmed YosriMarch 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet during the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the Saudi state news agency SPA said on Monday, under a deal to restore ties. The two ministers also agreed to hold a bilateral meeting between them during the ongoing month of Ramadan," SPA said. The deal between the regional powers, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and long-time rival Shi'ite Iran, brokered by China, was announced after previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two countries. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.

Summary Saudi Arabia, Syria cut ties more than a decade agoAgreement on reopening embassies follows Saudi-Iran dealBEIRUT/RIYADH, March 23 (Reuters) - Syria and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reopen their embassies after cutting diplomatic ties more than a decade ago, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, a step that would mark a leap forward in Damascus's return to the Arab fold. Contacts between Riyadh and Damascus had gathered momentum following a landmark agreement to re-establish ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a key ally of President Bashar al-Assad, a regional source aligned with Damascus said. The decision was the result of talks in Saudi Arabia with a senior Syrian intelligence official, according to one of the regional sources and a diplomat in the Gulf. The United States and several of its regional allies, including Sunni-led Saudi Arabia and Qatar, had backed some of the Syrian rebels. But Saudi Arabia has been moving far more cautiously.

☆ Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers to meet to pave way to re-open embassies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A newspaper with a cover picture of the flag of Iran and Saudi Arabia, is seen in Tehran, Iran March 11, 2023. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSDUBAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, have agreed to meet soon and pave the way for the re-opening of embassies under a deal to re-establish ties, Saudi state news agency SPA said on Thursday. Earlier this month, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to revive relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria. Amirabdollahian emphasized during the call Iran's readiness to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran's official news agency IRNA reported. The deal between the regional powers, Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and long-time rival Shi'ite Iran, brokered by China, was announced after previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two countries.

☆ Iraqi ambush of Americans made a mockery of 'Mission Accomplished'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Michael Georgy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/5] FILE PHOTO: A U.S. soldier walks past Iraqi detainees standing behind a wired fence, at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, Iraq May 17, 2004. Arriving in the city an hour or so after the ambush on March 31, 2004, I was confronted by a crowd kicking the head of an incinerated body. I was taking notes, trying to make sense of the furore, when a boy, who was probably aged about nine, approached. HOTSPOTIn the two decades of turmoil since the invasion, Falluja repeatedly emerged as a hotspot. I saw an Iraqi douse one of the corpses with petrol, sending flames soaring into the air.

The senior source familiar with Syrian government thinking said that the UAE role in persuading Assad should not be underestimated. A Syrian source close to the Gulf said the UAE had used its "soft power" on Assad and a Turkish official also said the UAE had played a part in persuading him. Moscow has tussled with Western states repeatedly at the Security Council over cross-border aid into Syria, arguing it violates Syria's sovereignty. Other Arab states, including U.S. allies, have also moved to normalise ties with Assad. The UAE official said there was an "urgent need to strengthen the Arab role in Syria".

Shunned by the West, Assad has been basking in an outpouring of support from Arab states that have normalised ties with him in recent years, notably the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia sent its first reported plane of aid to Assad-controlled Aleppo, a notable gesture from a Gulf state still at odds with Syria's president. 'BREAK THE SIEGE'The UAE has pledged $50 million in aid to Syria, without saying in which part of Syria it will be spent. Once a backer of Assad's foes, the UAE has been pressing other Arab states to re-engage with Damascus, according to two Gulf sources, despite opposition from its strategic ally the United States. Tunisia, which cut off ties with Syria a decade ago, has said it will strengthen relations with Damascus since the quake.

☆ Saudi foreign minister: 'All bets off' if Iran gets nuclear weapon
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran's Gulf Arab neighbours would act to shore up their security if Tehran were to obtain nuclear weapons. Indirect U.S.-Iranian talks to salvage a 2015 nuclear pact between global powers and Iran, which Washington exited in 2018, stalled in September. "If Iran gets an operational nuclear weapon, all bets are off," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said in an on-stage interview at the World Policy Conference in Abu Dhabi when asked about such a scenario. "The signs right now are not very positive unfortunately," Prince Faisal said. "We hear from the Iranians that they have no interest in a nuclear weapons programme, it would be very comforting to be able to believe that.

☆ Bahrain holds parliament polls; rights groups slam 'repressive' climate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( Ghaida Ghantous | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MANAMA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Bahrainis on Saturday voted in parliamentary elections held in an environment rights groups described as "political repression" since the Gulf Arab state has dissolved the main opposition groups and cracked down on dissent. Ahead of the vote, which includes municipal polls, rights group Amnesty International criticised "highly restrictive measures" that bar members of banned opposition groups and those who have served jail terms longer than six months. "Holding this general election will not address the atmosphere of repression and the denial of human rights that has gripped Bahrain for years," Amnesty said in a statement. The government said 344,713 voters were eligible to vote, down from 365,467 in the last polls in 2018. London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, describing the vote as a "sham", said legislation on voter inclusion appeared to target individuals who boycotted earlier polls.

☆ Iran protests flare again as U.N. voices concern at detainees' treatment
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody last month. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in the violent crackdown on Sept. 30. The provincial security council has said armed dissidents had provoked the clashes, leading to innocent people's deaths, but admitted "shortcomings" by police. The U.N. human rights office on Friday voiced concern at Iran's treatment of detained protesters and said authorities refused to release some of the bodies of those killed. Rights groups have said at least 250 protesters have been killed and thousands arrested across Iran.

☆ Iran's Khamenei vows revenge after deadly attack on Shi'ite pilgrims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A general view of the Shah Cheragh Shrine after an attack in Shiraz, Iran October 26, 2022. Officials said they had arrested a gunman who carried out the attack at the Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz. State media blamed "takfiri terrorists" - a label that predominantly Shi'ite Iran uses for hardline Sunni Muslim militants such as Islamic State. Since the peak of its power, when it ruled millions of people in the Middle East and struck fear across the world with deadly bombings and shootings, Islamic State has slipped back into the shadows. Iranian leaders may have hoped that the shrine attack would draw attention away from the unrest but there is no sign that is happening.

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