Saudi Arabia 'scrambles fighter jets' amid fears of WAR in Middle East

ARAB LEAGUE TO HOLD URGENT MEETING ON IRAN AS SAUDIS REPORTEDLY MOBILIZE FIGHTER JETS

South Front,

12 November, 2017

The Arab League is set to hold an emergency meeting on Iran at Saudi Arabia’s request, this according to Reuters and various regional sources, at a moment when Saudi fighter jets may be mobilizing for war in an attempted show of force.

 Egypt-based Ahram Online also reports further that the meeting will discuss “Iranian interference” in the region at League headquarters in Cairo, and other early unconfirmed reports indicate the meeting could come as early as next Sunday.

News of the Arab League extraordinary session comes as tensions are at breaking point as regional powers – especially Saudi Arabia and Israel – talk war against perceived Iranian expansion and domination in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, The Daily Star, citing the Baghdad Post, claims that Saudi Arabia has scrambled its air force for strikes in Lebanon: “Reports now state the Royal Saudi Air Force has placed its warplanes on alert to launch strikes as the region sits on a knife edge.” The report accompanies undated footage of Saudi F-15’s in aerial maneuvers over what is presumably a Saudi airfield

The Daily Star adds the following accompanying the video:

The kingdom has mobilized its F-15 fighter jet fleet to launch a military operation against the Iranian-backed terrorist militia of Hezbollah in Lebanon, regional news website The Baghdad Post reports.

Saudi Arabia previously accused both Lebanon and Iran of committing an act of wars against it after rebels fired a missile at the King Khalid International Airport in the kingdom’s capital of Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia has reportedly placed its air force on alert

However unlikely it is that the Saudis would take direct military action against Lebanon, the report reveals the legitimate fears of Lebanese citizens who are increasingly aware that their country has fallen in the cross hairs of an unusual alliance between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and anti-Iranian interests which see Hezbollah and pro-Iranian proxies as the number one threat and scapegoat for all of the region’s problems.

Iran is currently being scapegoated for just about all tensions which have exploded in the gulf over the past week, including the following:

• the civil war in Yemen,
• the Qatar economic blockade and isolation over accusations that it is “Iran friendly”,
• the latest civil unrest in Bahrain and the alleged bombing of a major oil pipeline there,
• ratcheting up tensions with Israel in support of Hezbollah,
• destabilizing Lebanon itself leading to PM Saad Hariri’s “resignation” – all of this precipitating the Saudi “night of the long knives”.

As many astute pundits have pointed out, it’s now “blame Iran time” according to the official Saudi (and allies) narrative of events in order to set the stage for public support for potential military action against Iran.

Saudi Arabia 'scrambles fighter jets' amid fears of WAR in Middle East

SAUDI Arabia has scrambled its air force for strikes in Lebanon amid fears of a new war in the Middle East, according to reports.

The Daily Star,

11 November, 2017

The kingdom has mobilised its F-15 fighter jet fleet ito launch a military operation against the Iranian-backed terrorist militia of Hezbollah in Lebanon, regional news website The Baghdad Post reports.

Saudi Arabia previously accused both Lebanon and Iran of commiting an act of wars against it after rebels fired a missile at the King Khalid International Airport in the kingdom's capital of Riyadh.

Yesterday, Saudi Arabia ordered its citizens to leave Lebanon escalating fears of war to new heights – which the US have dubbed grounds for a “proxy war”.

Hezbollah are the most powerful military and political force in Lebanon and receives major support from Iran.

Reports now state the Royal Saudi Air Force has placed its warplanes on alert to launch strikes as the region sits on a knife edge.

Hezbollah said on Friday that Saudi Arabia had declared war on Lebanon after the nation was accused of holding their Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri against his will.

The PM resigned while on a visit to Riyadh last Saturday, which was dubbed as an "insult" to Lebanon.

Hariri’s resignation has plunged Lebanon into crisis, thrusting into the centre of the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The region sits on a knife-edge as the power struggle between Iran and Saudi Arabia looks set to draw their neighbours into a major war.

Thamer al-Sabhan, the Saudi minister for Gulf affairs, said the Lebanese government would now “be dealt with as a government declaring war on Saudi Arabia” over “acts of agressionn” by Hezbollah.

Ex-prime minister Hariri has blamed Iran for the growing conflict – claiming Hezbollah are “Iran’s arm” in Lebanon.

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson warned the region not to star a war in the Middle East – and urged Iran to back down for its support of Hezbollah.

He said: “The United States supports the stability of Lebanon and is opposed to any actions that could threaten that stability.

“The United States cautions against any party, within or outside Lebanon, using Lebanon as a venue for proxy conflicts or in any manner contributing to instability in that country.”