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Iran Enters Hornets Nest: Parks Two Warships Off Yemen Coast Immediately Next To Two US Aircraft Carrier
Zero Hedge,
8 April, 2015
The probability of a major escalation over the latest proxy Middle Eastern civil war just escalated substantially.
While it has been widely reported that the United States has been accelerating its weapons supply to the Saudi-led coalition striking rebels in Yemen as a sign of how foreign powers are deepening their involvement in the conflict, the biggest regional backer of the Houthi rebels, the state of Iran, had been mostly inert. Until this morning, when as AP reports, Iran dispatched a naval destroyer and another vessel Wednesday to waters near Yemen.
According to Iran's English-language state broadcaster Press TV, the official reason for the mini flotilla is a peacekeeping mission meant to deter piracy. It quoted Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the ships would be part of an anti-piracy campaign "safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region." The real reason has nothing to do with pirates and everything to do with showing that there is another interest party in a conflict that until now has seen unilateral involvement mainly by the Saudi-led and US supported Gulf Arab air campaign targeting the Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis.
As for the topic of US support, speaking a day earlier in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed the violence in Yemen on the Houthis, and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, saying that the U.S. is committed to defending Saudi Arabia.
"We have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence sharing, and we have established a joint coordination and planning cell in the Saudi operations center," he said in a statement to reporters after meeting with Saudi royals and Yemen's President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled his country amid rebel advances.
Ironically, the U.S. said that the chaos has allowed the local al-Qaida branch, which it considers the world's most dangerous wing of the group, to make "great gains" on the ground, causing Washington to rethink how it prevents it from launching attacks in the West.
"Ironic", because as reported previously, it was the US' own hasty departure from the Houthi overrun country that provided $500 millions of dollars in "misplaced" modern weaponry and supplies to these same rebels.
That was the US side of things. Here is Iran's via Press TV:
The 34th fleet of the Iranian Navy has left for the Gulf of Aden and Bab al-Mandab Strait in line with the country’s policy of safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region.
The flotilla, which comprises the Bushehr logistic vessel and Alborz destroyer, left Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Wednesday, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on the sidelines of a ceremony to deploy the fleet.The Alborz destroyer shown here in a Feb. 21, 2010 file photo.
More from Press TV:
The commander said that the 34th Fleet is sent on a mission “to provide [safety for] Iran’s shipping lines and protect the Islamic Republic of Iran’s interests in the high seas.” Sayyari said that the flotilla also seeks to ensure safety for the vessels against pirates.
The Navy observes international law while conducting its mission in the north of the Indian Sea with full power, the commander stressed.
In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.
In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has also been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 in order to safeguard merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.
Iran’s Navy has managed to foil several attacks on both Iranian and foreign tankers during its missions in international waters.As Al-Arabia adds, "Iran has condemned the campaign and called for dialogue. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of providing military support to the Houthis, a charge the Islamic Republic denies. The Iranian ships will patrol the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen, and the Red Sea, Sayyari said. The area is one of the world's most important shipping routes and a gateway between Europe and the Middle East."
* * * * *
And now the punchline: as the following Naval update map shows, the two Iran warships will now be located in the immediate vicinity of not only two US aircraft carriers, CVN-71 Teddy Roosevelt and CVN-70 Vinson, but well as the big-deck amphibious warship Iwo Jima which as reported before is providing marine support should the situation demand it.
All of this means the odds of a naval "accident" involving one or more warships in the Red Sea just went up substantially.
Zarif calls for Yemeni solution to Yemen situation
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has called for a ceasefire in Yemen, which is being bombarded by Saudi warplanes since late March.
Yemeni Citizens Await Ground Operation to Avenge Killed Civilians – Expert
9
April, 2015
A
member of Yemen politburo spoke to Sputnik Arabic telling that all
citizens of Yemen are just waiting for the invasion of the enemy
soldiers so that they can take blood revenge for killed sisters,
mothers and children.
Fadl
Al-Muta, a politburo member of “Ansar Allah,” spoke to Sputnik
regarding the Yemen conflict.
“The
military alliance of Arab States is killing women and children of our
country. We would like to maintain normal relations with the Arab
states and other countries around the world. But now we want to say
that there is a limit to our patience,” Muta told Sputnik Arabic.
“Saudi
Arabia along with other Arab armed forces assault our power plants,
oil rigs, food warehouses, ports, civil airports, hospitals,
reservoirs, schools and other civilian structures. The international
community continues to be indifferent.”
Regarding
the ground operations, Muta said that the main reason why they still
have not started a ground operation against Saudi Arabia is the
presence of a number of destabilizing forces in Yemen, such as
"Al-Islah" armed militants ‘Abd Rabbo Mansour al-Qaeda’
and ‘Ansar al-with Sharia.’
“Therefore,
we must eliminate the internal threat before we start fighting a
foreign enemy.”
He
added, “We are waiting for a ground operation by the Arab alliance,
in order to give an immediate retort and take blood revenge for
killed sisters, mothers and children."
Yemen
has been torn apart by a conflict between Houthi militants and forces
loyal to displaced Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. An
international coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been carrying out
airstrikes against the Houthis since March 26, following Hadi's
request for military aid.
A
military source told Sputnik earlier on Tuesday that at least six
children were killed after the Saudi-led coalition fired missiles
that hit a school in central Yemen.
The
World Health Organization (WHO) published a report on the Yemen
conflict, stating that a total of 643 people have been killed and
2,226 injured since the conflict escalated on March 19.
According to the report, over 334,000 people have been displaced while more than 254,000 have been registered as refugees as a result of violent clashes in the crisis-hit Arab country.
A
bounty of 20 kilograms of gold has been promised by Al-Qaeda for the
capture or killing of the leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels and his
closest ally, ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, SITE monitoring group
said.
9
April, 2015
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) announced the bounty in a video released through its media arm on Wednesday.
The Shiite Muslim Houthi rebels, who took control of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014 and are now on the offensive in the southern part of the country, are led by Abdel-Malek al-Houthi.
Al-Houthi, known to be an efficient battlefield commander, established himself as a revolutionary leader, following mass protests in Yemen 2011.
There’s little information about the rebel strong man, reportedly in his early 30s, as he tries to keep a low profile, rarely appearing in public or talking to the press.
READ MORE: Al-Qaeda militants capture military base in southeast Yemen
The Houthi offensive is supported by soldiers loyal to former President Saleh, who was forced to give up power in Yemen after a 33-year rule in 2012.
Being a radical Sunni Islamist movement, Al-Qaeda views the Houthis and Saleh, representing the Shiite Zaydi minority in Yemen, as heretics.
Al-Qaeda’s Yemeni wing has bolstered its activities in the country in recent weeks as the group assaulted the town of Mukalla in early April and freed prominent local terrorist leader, Khaled Batarfi.
On Tuesday, the jihadists reportedly assaulted a remote Yemeni military post near the border with Saudi Arabia, killing several officers.
The attacks came amid Saudi-led coalition’s airstrikes on Yemen, which were launched two weeks ago with an aim of surprising the Iran-liked Houthis and reinstating deposed president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to power.
CNN coverage.
According to the official version there is "chaos" in Yemen and military intervention is needed to restore "peace and democracy."
And of course, Saudi Arabia, America's great ally is "defending peace and democracy" in Yemen by bombing it.
From Press TV
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