Persian Gulf & Middle East Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Iranian Ship Unloads 185 Tons of Weapons, Military Equipment for Houthis in Yemen


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

The Houthi militias 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 .

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.

Syria claims shooting down of US drone over Latakia





The Syrian military says it has shot down a US drone near the city of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad in north-west Syria.

US officials have said they lost contact with a drone but that it is unclear if it was shot down.
If confirmed it would be the first time Syrian forces have attacked a US aircraft since the start of coalition strikes against Islamic State (IS).

Syria has not been participating in the raids on IS.
The country's state-run Sana news agency described the unmanned surveillance plane as "hostile", without giving further details. The Pentagon said it was looking into the incident.

An MQ-1 Predator unmanned aircraft - it is not clear what model has been shot down

The Pentagon said they lost contact with an MQ-1 Predator drone over north-west Syria

In a BBC interview last month, President Assad said "general messages" were provided to the Syrians about the coalition strikes via a third party.

ShahryarHedayat said:

Syria claims shooting down of US drone over Latakia

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ShahryarHedayat said:

Syria claims shooting down of US drone over Latakia

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The plane was targeted by SAM-3 AD missile

US State Department Announces Military Staff Pullout From Yemen

US State Department has announced that the United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is evacuating its entire military personnel from a key airbase in Yemen following an upsurge in violence in the conflict-torn country, the US State Department has announced.

"Due to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, the U.S. Government has temporarily relocated its remaining personnel out of Yemen," US State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said in a Saturday statement.

The State Department stressed that there is "no military solution to Yemen's current crisis" and called for an "immediate" cessation of armed hostilities in the country.

Earlier on Saturday, the UN Security Council announced a decision to hold an emergency meeting on Yemen on Sunday afternoon, a move which came one day after Islamic State (ISIL) militants carried out a series of attacks in Yemen's capital Sanaa and the northern city of Saada.

On Friday, suicide bombers took the lives of at least 150 people in two Sanaa mosques. In Saada, over 30 people were killed in attacks.

Sanaa is currently controlled by the Ansar Allah Houthi rebel group. In late January, Houthi rebels seized the presidential palace and government buildings forcing Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the country's government to resign.

On February 11, the United States suspended the work of the US Embassy in Sanaa and issued a travel warning for its citizens, citing ongoing terrorist activities and civil unrest in Yemen.

Later that same month, Hadi escaped house arrest, fled to the southern port city of Aden and withdrew his resignation.

On Thursday, Houthis launched airstrikes on the presidential palace in Aden. The UN Security Council condemned the attacks in its Friday statement, stressing that Hadi is the sole legitimate authority in Yemen and urging all sides in the Yemeni conflict to refrain from the use of military force.

The US State Department also stressed in its Saturday statement that President Hadi is the legitimate authority in Yemen and called on Houthi rebels to stop violent incitement which threatens Hadi, Yemeni government officials and innocent civilians in the country.

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BREAKING: Officials tell AP that Yemen's president has left the country by sea, on a boat from Aden.

— The Associated Press (@AP)

ShahryarHedayat said:

BREAKING: Officials tell AP that Yemen's president has left the country by sea, on a boat from Aden.

— The Associated Press (@AP)

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Saudi warplanes bomb Houthi positions in Yemen



Warplanes of the Royal Saudi Air Force bombed the positions of Yemen’s Houthi militia and destroyed most of their air defenses, Al Arabiya News Channel reported early on Thursday.

Arab Gulf states had announced that they have decided to “repel Houthi aggression” in neighboring Yemen, following a request from the country’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

In their joint statement Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait said they "decided to repel Houthi militias, al-Qaeda and ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] in the country.”

The Gulf states warned that the Houthi coup in Yemen represented a “major threat” to the region’s stability.

It also accused the Iranian-backed militia of conducting military drills on the border of Saudi Arabia, a leading member of the GCC, with “heavy weapons.”

In an apparent reference to Iran, the statement said the “Houthi militia is backed by regional powers in order for it be their base of influence.”

The Gulf states said they had monitored the situation and the Houthi coup in Yemen with “great pain” and accused the Shiite militia of failing to respond to warnings from the United Nations Security Council as well as the GCC.

The statement stressed that the Arab states had sought over the previous period to restore stability in Yemen, noting the last initiative to host peace talks under the auspices of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In a letter sent the U.N. Security Council and seen by Al Arabiya News, Hadi requested “immediate support for the legitimate authority with all means and necessary measures to protect Yemen and repel the aggression of the Houthi militia that is expected at any time on the city of Aden and the province of Taiz, Marib, al-Jouf [and] an-Baidah."

In his letter Hadi said such support was also needed to control “the missile capability that was looted” by the Houthi militias.

Hadi also told the Council that he had requested from the Arab Gulf states and the Arab League “immediate support with all means and necessary measures, including the military intervention to protect Yemen and its people from the ongoing Houthi aggression.”

In coordination with armed forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, Houthi militants took control of Lahj governorate and captured a number of key opponents on Wednesday morning.

The group captured Brigadier Mahmoud Al-Subaihi, the former minister of defense who was leading troops loyal to Hadi in the south, and Faisal Rajab, commander of the pro-Hadi 119th Armored Brigade in Lahj’s capital Al-Hawta.

The captures happened at 11 a.m. as the Houthis and their allies were combing Al-Hawta city, which they took control of shortly after the fall of Al-Anad Airbase that morning, said Naji Al-Arashi, chief-of-staff of the 201st Armored Brigade stationed in Al-Anad.

“By cooperating with the Houthis we have taken control over Al-Hawta city, Al-Anad base, and remaining districts in the governorate,” he said, adding that the Houthis, aided by the army, intend to take over the remaining southern governorates as well.

Al-Subaihi was leading the counter-offensive against the Houthis in Lahj governorate. Following the Cabinet’s resignation on Jan. 22, the Houthis appointed Al-Subaihi as acting minister of defense on Feb. 6. However, he fled Sana’a for Lahj on March 8, and headed towards Aden where he became President Hadi’s de facto minister of defense.

A senior source within the brigade, speaking to the Yemen Times on condition of anonymity, said Special Security Forces (SSF) and other units arrived on the outskirts of Al-Anad base in the middle of the night before advancing without resistance later in the morning.

According to Colonel Ali Qasim Muthana, deputy commander of Al-Anad airbase, “We contacted air force leadership in Sana’a and there was mediation between us and the Houthis, we agreed to hand over the entire base on condition that no one gets harmed.”

“I allowed them to enter and deploy their men, and indeed that happened without any confrontation. If we had resisted, our soldiers and citizens would have been the victims,” he said.

Forces from the 33rd Armored Brigade took control of the cities of Al-Habilain and Al-Malah and were joined by reinforcements, according to a source from the Operations Department for the two cities, which border Al-Dhale governorate to the north. According to Houthi Political Office member Mohammad Al-Bukhaiti, all of Lahj governorate is under the Houthis’ control. He confirmed that Al-Subaihi and Rajab are in Houthi custody.

The Houthis announced a YR20 million ($93,000) award for the capture of Hadi on the official state TV channel Al-Yemen, whose whereabouts remain unknown as of Wednesday evening.

Responding to claims that Hadi had fled the country, the head of national security, Major-General Ali Al-Ahmadi, claimed to Reuters Wednesday afternoon that he was with Hadi in the Presidential Palace. The Yemen Times was unable to verify the authenticity of this claim.