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  • Reports: Trump Administration Bans Laptops In-Flight for Saudi-US Flights
     

    Lengthy flights from Saudi Arabia to the United States will now seem longer as the Trump Administration bans non-American carriers from allowing passengers to carry laptops in-flight. New TSA rules on flights originating from Riyadh and Jeddah state that laptops must be kept in checked baggage. The new rule “had been under consideration since the […]

     
  • Seven Important Takeaways from Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Lunch Meeting with President Trump
     

    A “senior advisor to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman” released an enthusiastic statement following yesterday’s meeting between the Prince and President Trump, calling the meeting a “huge success.” Observers of the U.S.-Saudi relationship will read the full text of the statement closely. It provides some insight into the thinking of Saudi leaders on the […]

     
  • Saudi FM Adel Al-Jubeir Meets with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington
     

    Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir Met with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson today at the State Department in Washington. “Secretary Tillerson met with Saudi Foreign Minister al-Jubeir today to discuss a number of critical bilateral, multilateral – or rather, regional issues, including, of course, the ongoing conflict in Yemen as well as broader counterterrorism […]

     
  • Trump Administration Taking ‘More Saudi-Friendly Approach to the Conflict in Yemen’
     

    The U.S. State Department’s approval of a resumption of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia that would reverse a decision by President Obama is “a potential sign of reinvigorated U.S. support for the kingdom’s involvement in its neighbor’s ongoing civil war,” the Washington Post reports. President Trump must approve the reversal, which was ordered by Secretary of […]

     
  • Yemen’s President Hadi Says Saudis Gave $10 Billion to Rebuild War-Torn Nation
     

    Yemen’s President Hadi said that Saudi Arabia has given his nation $10 billion to rebuild following nearly two years of civil war, according to reports. The funds will go to restoring electricity and water supply, healthcare, education and communications, according to RT. Hadi defined these as the “urgent priorities” for his government. Saudi officials have yet to […]

     
  • Seven Saudi Soldiers Killed on Yemen’s Border Last Week
     

    At least seven Saudi soldiers have been killed in the past week in clashes with Yemeni rebels, Al Jazeera reports, citing the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). Mohammed al-Manjahi was the latest soldier to be killed on the kingdom’s southern borders in the fight against Houthi rebels. According to an AFP news agency tally compiling reports by the Saudi […]

     
  • Secretary of State Tillerson Calls Saudi King Salman, Applauds Saudi Role in Regional Stability
     

    U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Saudi Arabia’s King Salman by phone yesterday, and commended the Kingdom on its role in “promoting stability across the region,” the SPA reports. Tillerson also “stressed on the importance of working with the Kingdom, developing a comprehensive plan to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation both military and counter-terrorism […]

     
  • Raw Video Emerges of Houthi Attack on Saudi Frigate as U.S. Sends Destroyer to Red Sea
     

    Raw video has emerged online of a Houthi attack on a Saudi frigate that damaged the ship and drew the condemnation of Saudi Arabia and its allies. Suicide boats belonging to the Houthi militias from Yemen struck the Saudi frigate off Hodeida port in the Red Sea. Two crew members were killed and three were […]

     
  • Trump Turns Up Rhetoric, Threats Toward Iran
     

    The Trump administration says it is putting Iran “on notice” following two incidents in the region in the past week, including an attack on a Saudi navy ship by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The comments came from President Trump on Twitter as he blasted the agreement to disarm Iran’s nuclear program. “Iran was on its last legs […]

     
  • U.S.-Saudi Arabia Continue Strong Defense Ties in Trump Administration’s Early Days
     

    Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone with Secretary of Defense James Mattis today to discuss mutual cooperation on security issues, according to the SPA and the Saudi Gazette. The Deputy Crown Prince also serves as minister of defense and chair of the powerful Council on Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA). The U.S.-Saudi relationship is […]

     

MUST-READS

  • U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Lenderking’s Travel to Oman and Saudi Arabia

    U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking started travel on November 27 to Oman and Saudi Arabia to support ongoing peace efforts. The environment created by the UN-mediated truce presents the best opportunity Yemen has had for peace in several years. At this critical moment, we remind the Houthis that Yemenis are calling for peace, not a return to war. To that end, we call on the Houthis to immediately cease their attacks on Yemeni ports, which are disrupting the flow of much-needed resources and exacerbating suffering across Yemen. Such attacks only risk plunging Yemenis into another pointless cycle of violence and suffering. We urge the Houthis to instead seize this opportunity for peace, cooperate with the UN, and accept that the only path forward to ending eight years of destructive war is through a negotiated, inclusive Yemeni-led political settlement.

  • Why Yemen’s Truce Collapsed

    In large part this is because the international community and the Yemeni actors saw the truce differently. For the international community, the truce was supposed to be a first step toward Grundberg’s goal of a permanent cease-fire, which would then set the stage for a comprehensive peace agreement. For the Yemeni actors, particularly the Houthis, the truce was never anything more than a strategic pause that would allow them to regroup.

  • Arab Monetary Fund signs $1 bln agreement to support Yemeni government reforms

    The Arab Monetary Fund has signed a $1 billion agreement to support Yemen's economic reform programme to its Saudi-backed government, Saudi state media said on Sunday. The new package by the Abu Dhabi-based fund, which includes countries from the Middle East and North Africa, will provide support for the Yemeni government's efforts to stabilise the economy from 2022 to 2025, Saudi Ekhbaria TV reported. The war between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and a Saudi-led coalition has brought Yemen's economy to its knees and caused the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Inflation and foreign currency shortages have made food, water and fuel unaffordable for many in Yemen, which imports most of its needs.

  • Yemen’s Houthis attack al-Dhabba oil terminal, force ship to leave

    Yemen's Houthis attacked al-Dhabba oil terminal in Hadhramaut province on Monday, the group and Yemen's internationally recognised government said. The Iran-aligned Houthis fired a projectile from a drone that landed at the entrance of the terminal, which is located in the town of al-Shihr, two workers at the terminal told Reuters. Panamanian-flagged vessel Pratika had entered the terminal to load a shipment of crude but left after the attack, the workers said.

  • Yemen in Conflict

    One of the interesting things that struck me when doing this book has been looking back and seeing that political, military, and even social conflicts have been going on there for many centuries, and that in that sense, what's happening today isn't an exception. It's more of a continuation of earlier problems.

  • Sale of Possibly Looted Yemeni Objects Raises Red Flags

    A Yemeni researcher alleges that dozens of unlabeled artifacts originating from Yemen are slated for sale at a British auction house later this month, reflecting the Saudi-led trafficking of “blood antiquities” to international markets.

  • US envoy visits Middle East to back Yemen truce, State Dept says

    U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week "to support efforts to renew and expand the U.N.-mediated truce in Yemen," the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, one day after the top diplomat left for the region. "We remind the Houthis that the world is watching their actions and urge them to cooperate with the UN and listen to Yemeni appeals for peace," the department said in a statement.

  • US envoy visits Middle East to back Yemen truce, State Dept says

    U.S. Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking is visiting the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia this week "to support efforts to renew and expand the U.N.-mediated truce in Yemen," the U.S. State Department said on Thursday, one day after the top diplomat left for the region. "We remind the Houthis that the world is watching their actions and urge them to cooperate with the UN and listen to Yemeni appeals for peace," the department said in a statement.

  • Yemeni farmers turn to planting wheat as prices bite

    Some Yemeni farmers have turned to planting their own wheat as global disruptions dent imports and send prices soaring in Yemen where a seven-year conflict has pushed people deeper into poverty and left millions hungry. Farmer Khaled Maasar said most Yemenis cannot afford foreign wheat with prices rising to some 20,000 riyals, equivalent to $33. Food price inflation had already doubled in just two years in some part of the country.

  • Saudi Arabia reiterates support for international efforts for Yemen peace

    Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday reiterated its support for international efforts that aim to bring peace to Yemen, urging world powers to classify the Houthis, who have taken over much of east Yemen and the capital Sanaa, as a terrorist group. A UN-backed truce between the Iran-backed Houthis and the internationally recognised government was not renewed earlier this month. It came into force in April and raised hopes for a longer pause in fighting as the civil war in Yemen entered its eighth year. The ceasefire came to an end on October 2.