Just a quick round up-There sure seems to be lots of action taking place, let's catch up with some of it:1-U.S. pressures Saudi Arabia to stop bombing Iran-backed rebels in YemenThat is farcical. Stop providing logistics and refuelling and the bombing will soon stopPresentation?
"While Pentagon officials have said they are still backing the now month-old Saudi bombing campaign against on Houthi rebel targets in Yemen, the White House is increasingly signaling a desire for the campaign to come to an end.“There is no military solution to the crisis in Yemen, and the humanitarian situation will only worsen if the conflict continues,” President Obama’s National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice said on Wednesday night.Speaking before the Arab American Institute’s Annual Kahlil Gibran Gala in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Rice said the administration is “working with all parties to end the violence so that U.N.-led political negotiations can resume promptly and humanitarian access can be restored.”
2- Iranian warships at entrance to key strait?
"Two Iranian destroyers, sent to the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial ships, have reached the entrance of Bab el-Mandab, a strategic strait between Yemen and Djibouti, Iran's navy said Thursday.In another sign of tensions between Gulf rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the Saudi charge d'affaires was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran to hear a "strong protest" over Saudi military action which prevented an Iranian plane from landing in Sanaa."We are present in the Gulf of Aden in accordance with international regulations to ensure the safety of commercial ships of our country against the threat of pirates," said the head of the Iranian navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.The navy has sent the Alborz and Bushehr destroyers to patrol the entrance to the strait, he added"
3-Saudi led coalitions air drops weapons
"The Saudi-led coalition aircrafts airdropped arms and weapons in the city of Taiz, west of the country to support the Popular Resistance. Popular Resistance have been involved in fierce clashes with the Houthis and forces loyal to the Ex President Ali Abdulla Saleh for weeks. Sources from the Popular Resistance said that the arms dropped by the coalition would change the course of the fighting. Although the type of weapons haven’t been publicly announced local sources said that the arms included night-vision snipers, communication devices, and anti- tank weapons. The weapons were mainly dropped in areas controlled by the Popular Resistance, however, local military sources said that some arms fell in the hands of Houthi forces, while others were taken by civilians that refused to hand them to the Popular Resistance. Earlier the Popular Resistance managed to regain control over several strategic locations north of the city. Residents said that violent clashes are still ongoing and that Houthi forces continue to bomb areas including Masbah, Al Rawdha, Al Hassab, and the Central Market with heavy artillery. Witnesses reported casualties among civilians living in these areas, and locals also reported that troops from the Republican Guards and Special Forced (formerly know as Central Security forces) carried out night attacks on civilians who cooperated with the Popular Resistance and forces belonging to the 35th Armored Brigade"
Is this a weapons drop to Al Quaeda of Yemen or the Green Berets in Yemen? Seems to be much confusion on the ground right about now........4- Saudi-led coalition destroys Yemen runway after Iran defies blockade
Coalition warplanes destroyed the runway at Sanaa’s rebel-held airport Tuesday after an Iranian plane “defied” a blockade on Yemeni airspace, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led alliance said.Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri said the pilot of the Iranian plane dismissed the coalition’s warnings not to fly in to Sanaa airport after entering through an unauthorised route.“This forced air forces to destroy the runway at Sanaa airport to prevent him from landing” and forced him to turn back to Iran, he told Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-funded television network.Planes flying to the Yemeni capital must pass through Saudi Arabia’s Bisha Domestic Airport in the south which is assigned with the duty to “search any plane going to Sanaa”, said Assiri.A Sanaa airport official told AFP that coalition warplanes had bombed Sanaa airport in the afternoon after three planes carrying aid landed at the facility on Tuesday morning.Assiri confirmed that planes bringing aid from Doctors Without Borders, the International Migration Organisation, and other humanitarian groups had landed in Sanaa on Tuesday.However, with the runway now destroyed, planes carrying aid would be unable to land until it is repaired by Iran-backed Shia rebels who control the airport, as well as the capital.
5-More on the Iranian Plane and Saudi bombing of the runway afterwardsSlightly different version:
On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had prevented an Iranian commercial plane from landing in Sana’a airport. Coalition spokesman Brig. Gen. Ahmed Asiri told Asharq Al-Awsat by telephone that the plane had been given permission to land but had missed a deadline specified to enter Yemeni airspace.
The plane’s pilot had not answered calls from air traffic control in Jeddah to land in Bisha Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia, so that the plane could be searched, which Asiri said was a routine measure following the coalition’s enforcement of a blockade over Yemeni airspace. Asiri added that the Iranian plane had agreed to follow the measures prior to heading into Yemeni airspace.After bypassing the agreed-upon route, the plane headed straight for Sana’a, which resulted in coalition warplanes scrambling to track the aircraft. When the pilots did not respond to additional calls from coalition’s warplanes to follow procedure, the coalition’s planes bombed Sana’a airport’s runway to prevent the Iranian plane from landing.The pilot of the Iranian plane was then informed the runway had been targeted and promptly changed course, heading toward Omani airspace.
Scary times. Scary times- I will update asapUPDATE!6-Gulf rejects neutral Yemen talks as air raids continue
Riyadh--Gulf foreign ministers on Thursday rejected holding on neutral ground talks between rival political forces in Yemen, where Iran-backed Huthi rebels have defied air strikes and refused to give ground.They insisted after a meeting in Riyadh that the talks be held in Saudi Arabia, which leads an Arab coalition that has been bombing the Shiite rebels since late March.Iran has proposed holding United Nations talks on ending the war in Yemen at a neutral venue, excluding all countries from the coalition.But in a statement after talks at a Riyadh airbase the six Gulf Cooperation Council states "affirmed their support to intensive efforts by the legitimate Yemeni government to hold a conference under the umbrella of the GCC secretariat in Riyadh."The conference would be attended by "all Yemeni parties and components supporting legitimacy as well as Yemen's security and stability," said GCC secretary general Abdullatif al-Zayani.Don't miss from earlier today!!!!!