Saudi Arabia

Saudi, US Push for Extension of Iran Arms Embargo

Touring the Gulf, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook warned of an "emboldened Iran" if the UN Security Council fails to extend the current arms embargo on the Islamic Republic.

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Saudi Coalition Says Houthi Missile Strike on Riyadh Intercepted

The Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed drones and missiles launched against the kingdom by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

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Saudi Coalition Announces Ceasefire With Southern Separatists

The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen announced Monday a ceasefire between the internationally recognized government and southern separatists.

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UAE Still a Top Client as French Arms Sales Fall

French arms sales dropped nearly 8.6 percent last year to 8.3 billion euros ($9.3 billion) from 2018, with the United Arab Emirates — a key player in the Yemen conflict — still a leading client, a government report said Tuesday. France is regularly criticized by rights groups for arms sales to clients such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which are embroiled in a long campaign against Iran-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen that has claimed tens of thousands of civilian lives. A report presented to the French parliament Tuesday showed orders from Europe had grown to 3.47 billion euros — 45 percent of the total, up from a mere quarter the previous year. Belgium accounted for 1.8 million euros in sales. Middle Eastern clients represented about 30 percent last year with 2.15 billion euros in sales — down from almost 50 percent in 2018 — headed by the UAE with 1.5 billion euros and Saudi Arabia with 208.9 million euros. The numbers, “achieved in a context of particularly fierce competition confirming America’s supremacy and the emergence of new major exporters, particularly China … consolidates France’s place in the top five of global exporters,” said the report. In terms of deliveries, 2019 …

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Saudi Attacker on US Base Had Longstanding Al-Qaeda Ties: US

The Saudi military student who killed three Americans at a U.S. naval base in December had longstanding ties to Al-Qaeda and planned an attack before he arrived in the United States, U.S. justice officials said Monday. The December 6 attack by Mohammed Alshamrani, a Royal Saudi Air Force flight student at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, “was actually the culmination of years of planning and preparation,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. Evidence discovered on an encrypted cell phone shows he was radicalized at least as far back as 2015, and had since been associating with “dangerous” operatives from the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Wray added. The FBI and Justice Department revealed their findings after a months-long effort to crack the encryption on Alshamrani’s iPhone, which they said Apple refused to help with. U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr accused Apple of putting its own financial interests ahead of the nation’s. “If not for our FBI’s ingenuity, some luck, and hours upon hours of time and resources, this information would have remained undiscovered,” Barr said. “The bottom line: our national security cannot remain in the hands of big corporations who put dollars over lawful access and public safety. The …

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Saudi-led coalition extends Yemen ceasefire by a month

The Saudi-led coalition said it was extending a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen by one month due to coronavirus, even as fighting persists

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Canada to resume light armored vehicle exports to Saudi Arabia

Sale of the light armored vehicles was on hold since 2018 over kingdom's role in the war in Yemen and murder of journalist Kashoggi

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Yemen’s Houthi rebels reject ceasefire with Saudi-led coalition

Yemen's Houthi rebels rejected a ceasefire declared by the Saudi-led coalition against the northern faction, accusing Riyadh of violations

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Saudi-led coalition declares Yemen ceasefire due to coronavirus

The Saudi-led coalition against Yemen's Houthi rebels declared a two-week ceasefire to slow the spread of coronavirus

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Saudi coalition airstrikes in Yemen kill 31, including 19 children, UNICEF says

Nineteen children were among at least 31 civilians killed in air strikes on rebel-held northern Yemen last week, the United Nations said

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