Houthi-Iranian Missile sent to Riyadh Airport in Saudi Arabia may have begun Iran-Saudi Arabian war
The missile the Houthis shot at Riyadh Airport (the main airport in Saudi Arabia) may have begun an all out war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. This looks very likely now from everything indicated. To make this even crazier Saudi Arabia is also declaring war on Lebanon which is puzzling. The Iran thing makes sense but why Lebanon too? To make a little more sense about the missile it was shot down by another missile likely from the U.S. with anti-missile missile technology.
Iran
and Lebanon, two countries targeted by Saudi Arabia's recent efforts to
consolidate power at home and abroad, have rejected Riyadh's statements
suggesting the two countries had declared war against the kingdom.
After
a tumultuous weekend that saw a missile intercepted over Riyadh, the
Lebanese prime minister resign saying he feared an alleged assassination
plot in his country and a wide-ranging crackdown against high-ranking
officials at home, Saudi Arabia accused Iran and its Lebanese ally, the
Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah, of attempting to destabilize the
region. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to social
media Tuesday to fend off Saudi Arabia's attempts to blame Iran or
Hezbollah for Saturday's missile attack or for the sudden resignation of
pro-Saudi Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Related: What's happening in Saudi Arabia? How crown prince's rise to power is fueling new violence in the Middle East
Iran's
top diplomat pointed out the consequences of visits by President Donald
Trump and his senior adviser–son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to the kingdom,
which has waged a war on the rebel Zaidi Shiite Muslim movement known
as Ansar Allah, or the Houthis, that claimed responsibility for the
attempted strike near Riyadh's international airport.
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Iran's
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) in this handout picture
released by Hezbollah Media office, November 8, 2016. The two men have
criticized Saudi Arabia's efforts to portray their countries as the
aggressors after a chaotic series of events threatened regional
stability. Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via REUTERS
"Visits
to the belligerent #KSA have proved hazardous to regional health. Trump
visit led to Bahrain repression followed by Qatar debacle," Zarif tweeted,
using an acronym to refer to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. "Visits by
Kushner & Lebanese PM led to Hariri's bizarre resignation while
abroad. Of course, Iran is accused of interference."
He continued:
"#KSA bombs #Yemen to smithereens, killing 1000’s of innocents
including babies, spreads cholera and famine, but of course blames Iran.
KSA is engaged in wars of aggression, regional bullying, destabilizing
behavior & risky provocations. It blames Iran for the consequences."
Kushner and a number of other Trump administration officials last week secretly visited Saudi Arabia
and, while it was not clear with whom they met, Kushner is known to be
an ally of rising leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz
Al Saud. The 32-year-old royal became next in line to the throne after
his father, ruling King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, suddenly demoted
Prince Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud in June.
Mohammed bin Salman has
portrayed himself as a reformer, supporting a campaign to ween the
kingdom's economy off of oil. His hardline stance against corruption and
internal dissent has become increasingly public, and it made headlines
Sunday when dozens of high-ranking officials, including princes and
current and former ministers, were detained in an anti-corruption
crackdown. He's also been a supporter of the war in Yemen and an
opponent of Iran, which he has accused of supporting the Houthi
insurgency, something Iran has denied.
"The Crown Prince stressed
that the involvement of the Iranian regime in supplying its Houthi
militias with missiles is considered a direct military aggression by the
Iranian regime and may be considered an act of war against the
kingdom," the official Saudi Press Agency said after the millennial monarch's call Tuesday with U.K. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.
A poster depicting Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who has
resigned from his post, hangs along a street in the mainly Sunni Muslim
Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jadideh in Beirut, Lebanon November 6,
2017. The Arabic on the poster reads, "With you forever." Mohamed Azakir/Reuters
In
the wake of Hariri's surprise resignation, which was broadcast Saturday
on Saudi Arabia's royal family-run Al Arabiya news network after the
former prime minister had fled to the kingdom, Hezbollah Secretary
General Hassan Nasrallah appealed Sunday for calm, asking that parties
not resort to sectarian violence and accusing Saudi Arabia of forcing
Hariri to resign. Hariri, whose father was assassinated in a 2005
bombing his supporters blame on pro-Iran and pro-Syria elements, claimed
he received reports he would soon be the victim of a similar plot.
Lebanon's
armed forces said Sunday they had received no intelligence of such a
conspiracy, but Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Thamer al-Sabhan accused
the entire of Lebanese government of covering for Hezbollah, which has
long been an influential political force in the country.
“We will
treat the government of Lebanon as a government declaring war on Saudi
Arabia due to the aggression of Hezbollah,” Sabhan told Al Arabiya Monday.
Iranian
President Hassan Rouhani and his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Aoun,
stressed during a telephone call Tuesday their commitment to preventing
civil strife from breaking out due to recent events, according to
Beirut-based Al Mayadeen TV.
Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Iran's
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) in this handout picture
released by Hezbollah Media office, November 8, 2016. The two men have
criticized Saudi Arabia's efforts to portray their countries as the
aggressors after a chaotic series of events threatened regional
stability. Hezbollah Media Office/Handout via REUTERS 
A poster depicting Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who has
resigned from his post, hangs along a street in the mainly Sunni Muslim
Beirut neighborhood of Tariq al-Jadideh in Beirut, Lebanon November 6,
2017. The Arabic on the poster reads, "With you forever." Mohamed Azakir/Reuters 
No comments:
Post a Comment