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WestAsiaMonitorVolumeI,IssueVIII–April2015
CONTENTS
SPECIAL FOCUS
Israel Swerves Right
Israel Swerves Right
Pinak R. Chakravarty, ORF
Pinak R. Chakravarty
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu created
history, defying pre-poll predictions, by
leading his right-wing Likud Party to victory
in the recently concluded national elections in
Israel. The stunning result gave Netanyahu’s
Likud party 30 seats in the 120 seat Israeli
Parliament, the Knesset. Netanyahu will have
to cobble together a coalition, if he hopes to
become Prime Minister of Israel for a record
fourth time and equal the record of Israel’s
first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion.
The Yemen Crisis and Collective Arab
Security
Kanchi Gupta, ORF
Iraq on the Edge: PM al-Abadi and the war
against the Islamic State
Sikandar Azam, ORF
REGIONAL OPINION
Yemeni crisis: Iran’s exit is the only
solution
Editorial, al-Watan
The main challenge to the Likud was mounted
by the centre-left Zionist Union Party led by
Isaac Herzog, which came in second with 24
seats. The Zionist Union is a mutation of
Israel’s Labour Party, which led the country
for three decades after its founding in 1948. It
has not been able to win elections since 1999
when its leader Ehud Barak, a former Army
Chief, became the first Israeli prime minister
to offer the Palestinians an independent state,
albeit with some conditions, on most of the
occupied territories. Barak failed in this effort
and a violent Palestinian uprising, the Intifada,
ensued, sending the Labour Party into political
wilderness.
Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen
Abdulrahman al-Rashed, Asharq al-Awsat
COMMENTARIES
The great game folio: Pakistan in Yemen
C Raja Mohan, ORF, New Delhi
As U.S. and Iran Seek Nuclear Deal, Saudi
Arabia Makes Its Own Moves
David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times
STATEMENTS
Joint Statement during the State Visit of
the Emir of the State of Qatar to India,
March 25-26, 2015
The Party did not recover from this failure and
has been rudderless since then. The third was
the Joint Arab Coalition, an electoral alliance
MEDIA WATCH
BIBLIOGRAPHY Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 1
of four Arab majority parties which clocked
up 14 seats.
Netanyahu the majority he needs to form the
next government.
Yesh Atid, the party led by former Finance
Minister Yair Lapid, came in fourth with 11
seats and Kulanu, a right-wing party led by a
former Likud party member, Moshe Kahlon,
came fifth with 10 seats. A number of small
right-wing parties won seats below 10. Among
them are the Jewish Home Party with 8 seats,
the religious party Shaas, United Torah Party,
both took 7 seats, the Ultra Nationalist Yisrael
Beitenu got 6 seats and the left-wing Meretz
Party got 4 seats.
Netanyahu’s re-election and his alliance with
the ultra-nationalist parties will ensure that
prospects for peace and a permanent
settlement with the Palestinians, is unlikely to
be reached during his tenure. Israel has, so far
got a breather in the region with most Arab
countries grappling with jihadi extremism,
state failure and the Islamic State (IS). In this
scenario, the Palestinian issue has receded
somewhat and no longer gets the highest
priority among Arab states. This is in spite of
Netanyahu’s policy on creating new
settlements in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories
and
transplanting
Jewish
population in such settlements, pushing up this
population to over 600,000, including those
living in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel.
Israeli elections are conducted on the basis of
a list system which is similar to proportional
representation. A party prepares a list of
candidates and gets seats on the basis of the
percentage of votes polled. Candidates on the
list of a party are elected Members of the
Knesset, beginning from number one on the
list till the number which corresponds to the
number of seats won. The proportional
representation system has been held
responsible for the repeated fractured
mandates in Israeli elections.
President Reuven Rivlin has formally asked
Netanyahu to form Israel’s 34th government.
There is a 28 day time frame set by Israel’s
laws and Netanyahu has till April 22 to form
the government. Thereafter, the President can
sanction another 14 days if Netanyahu asks for
them, though the President has the right to
refuse, which is an unlikely possibility, given
the looming threat of political instability.
During this period there will be intense horse
trading, with various allies demanding
portfolios of their choice. Netanyahu’s task is
unenviable given the fractious and ideological
divided relations even among the allied
parties.
While Israeli President Reuvan Rivlin has
called for a government of national unity, this
is an unlikely prospect. Netanyahu can garner
57 seats among the right-wing and religious
parties that are allied to Likud. To put together
a majority, he will have to woo Kulanu leader
Moshe Kahlon who broke away from Likud
two years ago over differences with
Netanyahu. Ideologically, Kulanu has
displayed centrist tendencies and has
hobnobbed with the centre-left and moderate
Zionist Union party. Kulanu is the swing
factor and holds the balance of power between
the two traditional Right and Left wing blocs
in Israel’s politics. It is expected that Kulanu
may gravitate towards the Likud and give
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Playing the senior statesman, President Rivlin
said the next government and the Knesset will
have to take on the crucial tasks of healing
relations with the United States, returning
stability to the political system, and mending
rifts inside Israeli society. “We have endured a
difficult election period,” Rivlin said. “From
Page 2
visceral partisan affair in American political
history. Adding insult to injury, Netanyahu
also proclaimed during his election campaign
that there will be no Palestinian State while he
was in power. His electoral victory has made
many believe that his tactics of scaring Israeli
voters and opposing the USA-led Iran nuclear
deal have worked in favour, in so far as the
Israeli electoral verdict is concerned.
every direction, things were said that ought
not to have been said in a Jewish and
democratic state. Fanning the flames serves no
one. The fire does not only heat, it threatens to
engulf in flames. Today is the time to begin to
heal these wounds.”
Clearly, the President was rapping Netanyahu
on his knuckles for the visceral electoral
campaign that he and his party conducted, the
likes of which Israel had not seen before. In
post elections remarks, Netanyahu has spoken
about seeking peace with the Palestinians and
promised to put election rhetoric behind. He
emphasized good relations with the USA but
also asserted that he would work to prevent a
bad nuclear deal with Iran. On the economic
front, Netanyahu promised a budget that will
lower prices and put controls on monopolies
that are undermining competition.
The Obama administration was left with little
choice but to retaliate in various ways, both
subtle and direct. The White House has cast
serious doubts on the trustworthiness of Israel
as an ally and put limits on intelligence
sharing with Israel on the Iran nuclear
negotiations. It has also leaked stories of
Israeli snooping on US delegation at the
nuclear talks. The White House Chief of Staff
countered Netanyahu by asserting that a
separate Palestinian state is the best guarantee
for Israel’s long-term security with the borders
of Israel and a Palestinian state based on the
1967 lines with mutual adjustments of
territorial swaps. An estimated 1.7 million
Palestinians are Israeli citizens and live in
cities, towns and villages across the country.
During
Netanyahu’s
tenure,
Israel’s
traditionally close relations with the USA have
taken a beating, over the issue of the nuclear
deal with Iran that is being negotiated with the
P-5 + Germany. The slide began in 2009 with
the spat over the Obama administration’s
demarche to Israel that it should stop
construction of illegal Jewish settlements in
the OPTs. Israel-USA bilateral relations
became a partisan issue in domestic American
politics, reaching the bizarre nadir when the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, John
Boehner, invited Netanyahu to address the US
Congress against the wishes of the Obama
administration. This event was a remarkable
breach of protocol apart from being
unprecedented in international diplomacy.
Netanyahu told a joint session of Congress
that President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran
was dangerous and must be rejected. The
Congress, minus many Democrats who
boycotted Netanyahu’s speech, gave him
several standing ovations, making the event a
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
The USA has long supported a two-state
solution and Netanyahu’s remarks have led to
statements that the USA will have to reevaluate its position on this issue. The Obama
administration clearly intends to push
Netanyahu on the two-state solution and will
not be deterred from going ahead with the Iran
nuclear deal. In an apparent snub to
Netanyahu, Obama waited more than two days
before making the customary congratulatory
call to Netanyahu and conveyed that the White
House would re-assess its options in the light
of Netanyahu’s backtracking on the two-state
issue.
Page 3
The USA should hardly be surprised by
Netanyahu’s posturing. He had opposed the
Oslo accords in 1994 and had even called then
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin a
“traitor”. Netanyahu had also opposed the
withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza.
Netanyahu may have handed the Iranians
some extra leverage and in the process
undermined his goal of scuttling the Iranian
nuclear deal. The incentive for concluding the
deal will now be a factor in American
calculations which has to now to weigh the
Iranian assessment of the open letter sent by
47 Republican senators to the Iranian
leadership, warning Iran that a Republican
administration will disavow any agreement.
As a sabotage technique, such a move is
unprecedented in international relations.
Iran nuclear deal that Netanyahu had opposed
so strongly is almost done. Israel will have to
grin and bear it and deal with a chastened but
resurgent Iran. Israel is unlikely to take
unilateral action in bombing Iran’s nuclear
facilities. Israel’s dilemma will, therefore,
continue but the threat to Israel’s security
stands diminished with the Arab world in
turmoil and Iran’s nuclear threat boxed in for
several years.
(The writer is a Distinguished Fellow at ORF)
The Yemen Crisis and Collective Arab
Security
Kanchi Gupta
On March 25, 2015, Saudi Arabia launched
airstrikes in Yemen to thwart the Houthi
militia’s advance towards Aden, where the
Saudi backed Yemeni President Mansour Hadi
had sought refuge. Termed as “Operation
Decisive Storm”, the mission has been
actively supported by the UAE, Kuwait,
Bahrain, Qatar, Sudan and Egypt while
Morocco, Pakistan, Jordan, Turkey and
Somalia have conveyed their backing for the
operation.
The relationship between Obama and
Netanyahu has undergone severe strain with
the most recent collapse of the US-sponsored
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in April last
year. Israel’s seven-week long bombing of
Gaza further strained relations with the White
House, which backed its traditional ally while
expressing growing unease over the deaths of
Palestinian civilians. Kerry’s attempts to
broker a ceasefire in the conflict also ended in
embarrassing failure – and hostile briefing
against the US Secretary of State from Israeli
sources, further infuriated the White House.
Few days after the aerial intervention, regional
leaders declared their support for a joint Arab
intervention force. At the 26th Arab League
Summit, held in Egypt on 28 and 29 March,
2015, member states agreed “in principle” to
establish a rapid response force to safeguard
against national security threats, including the
rise of terrorism. While restoring the
legitimate government in Yemen was top
priority at the conference, several leaders
referred to foreign powers that have stoked
sectarian rivalries in the Arab States.
Yet it was Netanyahu’s decision to deliver his
speech against an Iran nuclear deal before the
Republican-controlled Congress that really
riled the Obama administration. In damage
control mode, senior White House figures
have publicly downplayed the damage to
relations,
but
the
consequences
of
Netanyahu’s speech will be far reaching and
Israel can expect unfavourable decisions and
unfriendly
moves
by
the
Obama
administration in the months to come. The
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby named Iran,
Turkey and Israel as external aggressors. He
Page 4
1982 during the Iraq-Iran war and
headquartered in northern Saudi Arabia. The
Force, consisting of only 5000 troops at the
time of establishment, was significantly
reinforced after it failed to repel Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait in the 1990s.
stated that “there is meddling by some
neighbours...Israel...Turkish
and
Iranian
interference
in
several
countries”.
Simultaneously, Saudi officials stated that the
operation in Yemen was not a “proxy war” but
aimed at protecting the legitimate Yemeni
government from a group (Houthis) that is
allied with and supported by Iran and
Hezbollah.
The call for greater military integration was
recently put forward by the late King Abdullah
at the GCC Summit in Riyadh in 2011 at the
height of the Arab Spring uprisings, and the
decision to set up a joint military command
force was taken at the 34th GCC Summit in
Kuwait in 2013. Prior to this, at the 21st GCC
summit in Manama in 2000, members signed a
mutual defence pact which in turn, led to the
creation of a joint GCC defence council and a
supreme military committee. This pact
codifies the GCC’s military strategy as
outlined in 1982, which states that “aggression
on a member state is aggression against the
other states (and) a joint responsibility whose
burden is on all member states”.
The proposed formation of a joint Arab force
indicates closing of ranks among Arab states
over Iran and their willingness to set aside
differences and join in an effort to counter
Tehran-backed actors. Addressing the summit,
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz stated that
extremism and internal conflicts experienced
by the Arab states are the result of an alliance
between terrorism and sectarianism, which “is
led by regional powers whose blatant
interventions in the Arab region have resulted
in undermining security and stability in some
of our countries”....requiring “us to be vigilant
and be in solidarity when taking necessary
actions”. Operation Decisive Storm was the
first deployment of the US-backed Joint GCC
military Command set up at the 35th
Ministerial and Heads of State Summit in
Doha in December 2014.
This principle was also codified by the
member states of the Arab League at the
summit in 1950 wherein a treaty of Joint
Defence and Economic Cooperation was
signed. However, joint deployments under the
Arab League mandate have only taken place
twice, including Kuwait in 1961 and Lebanon
in 1976.
The idea of collective security has been
floated many times since the establishment of
the GCC. At the IISS Manama Dialogue in
December 2013, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al
Zayani, Secretary General of the GCC,
emphasised on “the concept of collective
security as a major axis” in the works and
interactions of the GCC. He referred to the
role of the Peninsula Shield Forces in the
liberation of Kuwait in 1991, and the military
assistance to Bahrain against “external threats
and interventions” in 2011 as an embodiment
of this concept. The Peninsula Shield Force is
a joint-GCC military force, established in
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
While several initiatives have been undertaken
in the past, to develop regional security
architecture, political differences between
members have hindered military cooperation.
Issues of sovereignty, fears of Saudi
hegemony and intraregional disputes, such as
those between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have
prevented the development of significant
security and defence integration between
regional states. Consequently, the GCC states
have preferred bilateral security arrangements
with the US and EU states.
Page 5
Cairo’s requests for extending the US-led antiIS coalition to North Africa were ignored.
However, it is unlikely that all member states
of the Arab League will be in agreement of
joint defence strategies. While regional
powers are signalling willingness to take
greater military initiatives, independent of the
USA, intra-regional political differences,
historical
animosities,
issues
of
interoperability and sensitivities around
information-sharing, command and control of
joint forces are major impediments to
collective security efforts.
Oman has also been a significant “outlier”
among its GCC counterparts. Muscat rejected
Riyadh’s proposal of a greater GCC union,
threatening to withdraw from the Council.
Oman’s Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi
stated that the GCC “should not take on a
military identity and it should keep away from
regional conflicts”. In keeping with this
policy, Oman did not contribute troops to the
Peninsula Shield Forces’ operation in Bahrain
in 2011 and to Operation Decisive Storm in
Yemen.
Arab leaders’ disagreements with US policies
on Iran, Syria and Egypt have however,
elevated efforts to establish a regional security
framework. Symbolically, the creation of the
joint Arab intervention force was announced
two day before the March 31st deadline for the
nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5
+ 1. The military cooperation agreement also
symbolises tentative Saudi rapprochement
with Qatar as well as between Egypt and
Qatar.
(The writer is a Junior Fellow at ORF)
Iraq on the Edge: PM al-Abadi and the
War against the Islamic State
Sikandar Azam
In September 2014, when Haider al-Abadi
replaced Nouri al-Maliki as the Prime Minister
of Iraq, there was hope among the leaders of
the Sunni Arab world and the Kurdistan region
that the new government will create a balance
among Iraq’s ethno-sectarian groups –Sunnis,
Shias and Kurds. Al-Abadi, however, became
Prime Minister when the country was
essentially in ruins. Firstly, there was a serious
political crisis between Baghdad and Erbil
over oil. Secondly, diplomatic relations were
also not cordial with the countries of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC). Thirdly, the IS
has posed a serious threat to Baghdad by
capturing a third of Iraq, including Mosul –the
second largest city in the country. Meanwhile,
Kurds have moved towards the oil-rich Kirkuk
and threatened to secede.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have
been at odds with Qatar due to Doha’s support
for the Muslim Brotherhood and opposing
Islamist militia groups in Syria and Libya.
News reports suggest that Riyadh’s new
monarch, King Salman, is making concerted
efforts to “consolidate the Sunni states”
against Iran and the Islamic State while
looking beyond differences over the Muslim
Brotherhood.
As the security threat from the IS is rising and
the Arab States are increasingly engaged in
geostrategic competition with Iran and its
regional “proxies”, there is greater willingness
among regional powers to ‘go it alone’. In
August 2014, Egypt and the UAE launched
strikes against Islamist militias in Libya,
without informing the US. Egypt also targeted
IS strongholds in Libya in February 2015 as
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
In nearly six months, the new prime mister
eased the long standoff between Baghdad and
Erbil over the right to export oil directly
through the Turkish-Iraqi pipe line network.
Kurdistan regional government (KRG) Prime
Page 6
al-Abadi’s strategy will be tested as to how he
will manage the growing Iranian influence in
the country.
Mister Nechirvan Barzani and Iraqi Prime
Minister Haider al-Abadi signed an interim
agreement in early December last year in
Baghdad. The new agreement stipulates that
Baghdad will pay half of the all the revenue to
KRG generated from the Kurdish controlled
oil fields and Baghdad will also support the
Peshmerga –Kurdish military forces. Prime
Minisster Barzani said in a statement that the
agreement is “a gesture of goodwill and
chances of successful negotiation have
increased.”
Meanwhile Iraqi forces have achieved major
success in the war against the IS in Tikrit.
Iraqi forces launched a major offensive to
retake Tikrit from the IS in early March along
with the Shia militia under the command of
top Iranian Major-General Qassem Sulaimani
–the most senior officer who leads the Quds
Forces division of Iranian revolutionary guard
responsible for foreign operations.
In terms of foreign policy and relations with
the Arab world, al-Abadi’s efforts are
remarkable. Over the past six months he sent
several high-level delegations to Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE to build up trust
and garner support against the IS. Al-Abadi
also visited Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to
discuss the regional strategy to fight against
the IS and boost bilateral cooperation. This
progress in Iraq’s foreign policy underscores
the importance of the Sunni bloc in defeating
the IS and reconciling with Sunnis at home. In
response, regional leaders warmly welcomed
Baghdad’s efforts. Saudi Arabia indicated
immediate willingness to cooperate with the
al-Abadi government, whereas Turkey
promised to provide intelligence support to
Baghdad.
The victory in Tikrit will boast the morale of
the troops as well as the Iraqi government to
launch further operations in areas under IS
control. The Interior Minister of Iraq,
Mohamed Al-Ghabban said that “the enemy
(IS) has been removed and has lost all its
abilities and morale. Most of Tikrit’s civilian
areas have been liberated from ISIS elements,
and there only remain but a few of them”.
The victory in Tikrit over the IS is one of the
major achievements of the al-Abadi
government since he assumed office in
September, 2014. In the meantime, there are
concerns that the war against the IS is
developing sectarian dimensions particularly
when there is a large Iranian presence in the
war and beyond. Shakhawan Abdullah, head
of Iraqi parliamentary security and defence
committee said that “Iran’s presence went
beyond military advisers and experts” and the
Iranians were fighting under the banner of
Hashed Shaabi –popular mobilisation forces.
For the al-Abadi government, however, in this
war against the IS he has to maintain unity and
coordination among the various actors fighting
in Iraq against the IS, particularly the US-led
coalition which has significant representation
from the Arab world. Meanwhile presence of
Shia militias, backed by Iran, is a matter of
serious concern for Saudi Arabia and other
Sunni blocs. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister,
Saud al-Faisal, said in a statement during the
visit of the US Secretary of State, John Kerry,
to Riyadh that “Iran is taking over Iraq.” Now,
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
On the other hand, participation of a large
number of tribal militias in the war against the
IS is a matter of serious concern. They are
poorly trained. According to unofficial reports
1000 militias have been killed in just three
weeks in Tikrit that led to stalling of the
operations by the Iraqi government. Salman
Page 7
On the other side, local media suggests that
the IS has proportional support among the
Sunnis. On March 18, a video was posted on
IS website, “Wuquf ashaire ma’a wilayate
Kirkuk” (the support of Kirkuk’s clans for the
Islamic State) clearly indicates that the IS has
proportional support. These clans are mostly
Sunni and located in the north of Baghdad in
the capital of Kirkuk governorate.
Aldossary of Asharq al-Awsat says that “the
Iraqi government’s decision to commission
illegal militias to act on its behalf will only
lead to destruction.” He reiterated that the so
called Hashed Shaabi –a popular mobilisation
of forces, Shia and Sunni, supported by the
government with heavy weaponry – will act
like a trained state army. “The use of militias
in the war show a failure of the al-Abadi
government, despite its efforts to justify the
use of militias in the war against the IS”, he
added.
Therefore, operations in other districts of
Saladin province and Kirkuk will be a real test
for the Iraqi forces as well as for Prime
Minister al-Abadi’s strategy against the IS and
his approach towards the Sunni tribes who
have lent their support to the IS. Al-Abadi
became the Prime Minister after replacing
two-term Prime Minister al-Maliki who was
under fire for his policy of excluding the
Sunnis and creating sectarian tension in the
country.
The literature on private militia culture in Iraq
suggests that private militia culture is a postSaddam phenomenon. Article 9 b of the Iraqi
constitution makes it clear that “the formation
of military militia outside the framework of
the armed forces is prohibited.” The new
government had pledged to demobilise the
militia on priority basis. It was expected that
the al-Maliki government would be able to
accommodate these militias in the regular
army framework. But his government could
not translate this into realty and was ousted
from power in September 2014. Now, there
are 25-30 private militias in Iraq. Former US
ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad had
pointed out in July 2006, that “the existence of
private militias has been a looming and a
persistent problem in the country.”
However, Prime Minister al-Abadi has tried to
bridge the widening gulf between Baghdad
and Erbil solving the issue of the supply of oil.
Similarly, his diplomatic initiatives to balance
relations with the Arab world have improved
significantly. But there are issues that will
pose a challenge to the al-Abadi government
in coming days, particularly his policy towards
the Sunni tribes in the country and Iran’s
growing role in Iraq’s domestic affair.
(The writer is a Research Assistant at ORF)
REGIONALOPINION
Translated by Sikandar Azam
Yemeni crisis: Iran’s exit is the only
solution
are evolving in the Arab world. What is
happening in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen
is an Iranian escalation to break up national
entities and re-divide the country in order to
serve the Persian project.
Editorial, al-Watan, Saudi Arabia
Iran is seeking to dominate the region.
Therefore, one cannot separate Iranian policy
from political developments and divisions that
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 8
fight against terrorist organizations and save
Yemen from collapse.
Therefore, one cannot find solutions to these
crises without denouncing Iranian interference
in these four countries.
However, countries in this region will not
allow any group to implode because it
threatens their interests and the interests of the
entire region. Any state failure in Yemen
means new chaos that directly affects the
stability of the nations around it. The
international community should be aware that
any diplomatic solution will not be at the
expense of the people of Yemen and the
expense of its neighbours.
For instance, the crisis in Yemen has reached
an impasse. Terrorism, extremism and
political blackmail now prevail in the country
more than ever before. Yemeni political
scenario predicts that the country will have
stakeholders.
In Yemen there is Tehran, al-Houthi, alQaeda, supporters of Saleh and his comrades,
Muslim Brotherhood and finally the IS. The
demographic composition of the country is
also very complex. Tribes in Yemen were far
away from any ethnic conflict thanks to their
customs and traditions that prevented such a
conflict. But there are now chances that they
may also enter the conflict at any time for
political reasons.
Therefore, to bring stability in Yemen, Iran
must exit from there and then one can hope to
reach a solution to the Yemeni crisis.
Editorial, Al-Watan, 24 March, 2015
Saudi Arabia’s intervention in Yemen
Abdulrahman al-Rashed, Asharq al-Awsat
Moreover, the country is suffering, in addition
to the political chaos, from the poorest
development of social welfare. Human
development indices in the country are very
low and people are struggling for basic social
goods.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched the
first air attack on 26 March, targeting key
military installations to oust the Houthis from
the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. This attack
surprised everyone. But this intervention by
Saudi Arabia is to prevent Yemen from further
disaster. Now there is a hope that all (groups
fighting in Yemen) will come forward to find
a peaceful resolution, including the rebellious
Houthis and the isolated President Ali
Abdullah Saleh’s group.
In late March, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince
Saud al-Faisal made a statement saying that
Saudi Arabia hoped “to resolve the Yemeni
crisis peacefully, but if that does not happen,
countries in the region will take necessary
steps against aggression.”
Earlier the Houthis had disowned the
agreements and covenants they had signed
with the Hadi government. (In September,
2014 the Houthis had agreed to withdraw their
fighters from cities they seized once a new
national unity government was formed.)
Therefore, it was necessary to impose a new
situation in the country. They had put the
President, Prime Minister and rest of the
members of the legitimate government under
Yemen has very significant strategic location
in the Arabian Peninsula. Proximity to the Bab
al-Mandeb, (Strait of Mandeb) and the shores
of the Arabian Sea give it natural advantages.
Therefore, stability of Yemen is necessary for
the regional as well as the international
community. So an international intervention is
required to find a political roadmap for all
political parties in the country and then to
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 9
the people in the areas they had seized. It was
Hadi’s government which was responsible for
the salaries of government employees and the
social welfare of the people and farmers in the
country.
house arrest. However, after the President fled
to Aden along with some of his ministers, the
Houthis continued their advance towards
Aden.
Yemenis felt that this is the end of Yemen.
However when the Saudi air force launched
aerial attacks targeting the militias, a ray of
hope returned because the Saudi Arabia-led
alliance involved the state administration
under arrangements with, and supervision of
the United Nation.
The life of the people in the areas under
Houthis’ control was very poor. The United
Nations has already issued several warnings
regarding the risk of famine in many regions
of Yemen owing to mass disruption and
limited social welfare in the country.
However, Saudi Arabia’s intervention to stop
the Houthis and their allies’ advance towards
the east and the south is a new opportunity for
Yemen.
Earlier, there was chaos in the country with no
capital and without a unified government.
Armed groups including Houthis, members of
former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, southern
separatist forces, tribal fighters and al-Qaeda
had spread throughout the country. Among
these groups, the Houthis tried to dominate in
the country and captured a large swathe of
territory in northern Yemen. The Houthis’
success was due to the fact that they were the
most powerful rebellion in the country. In
their latest move, they moved towards the
maritime strategic corridor, Bab al-Mandeb,
and tried to control it with the intention of
depriving Saudi Arabia and other Gulf
countries from exporting their oil.
If the Saudi Arabia-led coalition would have
not intervened in Yemen, it would have been
the fourth state to fall into a crisis after Syria,
Libya and Somalia. However, Yemen is
different from these three countries. The
international community agrees with the
political structure of Yemen. Therefore, it is
possible to save it from chaos with the help of
the international community.
The Houthis have tried to break the
agreement, which was sponsored by the
United Nations in September last year.
According to the peace deal brokered by the
UN, Houthis had agreed to withdraw their
fighters from the capital Sanaa once a national
unity government was formed.
Before the intervention by Saudi Arabia and
other regional countries in Yemen, the
situation was going from bad to worse and
there was widespread civil war between
various forces for a long time. However, the
fact was that the Houthis had the upper hand
in a series of open warfare.
Thereafter in January, the Houthis rejected the
draft of new constitution proposed by the Hadi
government. Instead they continued their war
against the government. But this time, Saudi
Arabia broke the silence of its neutrality and
its silence on Iran. Therefore, it has decided to
strengthen the central government and the
State of a new Yemen.
Due to limited resources and political chaos,
intervention was necessary in the country. The
Houthis have insufficient resources to run the
country, despite the fact that they had some oil
fields under their control. Earlier, in northern
Yemen, they were involved only in military
activities and did not handle the grievances of
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Source: Asharq al-Awsat, 27 March, 2015
Page 10
COMMENTARIES
The Great
in Yemen
Game
Folio:
After King Salman picked up the telephone to
call Sharif on Saturday, the official Saudi
news agency said the PM had offered to put
the full services of the Pakistan army at the
disposal of Riyadh. The question was probably
never about whether Pakistan would join the
operations. It was related to the nature of
Pakistan’s contribution and how it should be
presented to its public.
Pakistan
C Raja Mohan, Distinguished Fellow, ORF,
New Delhi
Islamabad is under pressure from Saudi
Arabia to join the military operations by the
Sunni coalition that Riyadh is leading against
the Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.
But there is little popular support in Pakistan
for jumping into a war that has acquired such a
sharp sectarian edge.
Domestic Scepticism
Amidst the growing tensions between the Shia
and Sunni at home, many in Pakistan argue
that it is utterly unwise for Pakistan to join the
sectarian strife in the Middle East. Others
point to the dangers of being drawn into the
proxy wars between Saudi Arabia and Iran
that are unfolding in the region.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was summoned
a few weeks ago to Riyadh as King Salman
considered muscular options to reverse the
Houthi advances in Yemen. Besides
Pakistan’s longstanding special relationship
with Saudi Arabia, Sharif personally owes
much to the House of Saud that saved him
from the wrath of General Pervez Musharraf
after the army ousted him in a coup at the end
of 1999.
Although supporting Riyadh will certainly
bring some rewards for Pakistan, it also
complicates relations with Iran, with which it
shares a long and increasingly restive border.
Further, Pakistan’s borders with India and
Afghanistan are unstable and the army has
enough on its hands countering the Islamist
insurgency at home. A military adventure far
from the borders, many in Pakistan argue,
makes little strategic sense.
After the Saudis launched air strikes on
Yemen last Thursday, Riyadh put out the word
that Pakistan has agreed to join the campaign.
In Islamabad, the foreign office would neither
confirm nor deny the reports. It merely stated
that the government of Pakistan was
“considering” the Saudi request.
Finally, there is Pakistan’s self-perception as a
leading force in the Islamic world. Much like
India’s notions of third-world solidarity,
Pakistan’s “Islamic Internationalism” opposes
taking sides in the conflicts between Muslim
countries and demands that Pakistan promote
reconciliation. But the multiple reservations
being expressed in public might have no
policy consequence for Pakistan. The issue is
too big for the civilian government in
Islamabad to decide. It will be the Pakistan
The defence minister of Pakistan, Khawaja
Asif, told the National Assembly that Pakistan
has made no promise to Saudi Arabia on
joining the coalition. As the government of
Pakistan dissimulated in public, there were
reports in the Saudi media that 10 Pakistani
jets were taking part in the air operations in
Yemen and that its navy might be joining the
operations.
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 11
army, headquartered in Rawalpindi that will
take the call.
it had to provide a variety of military services
that they demanded.
Raj Legacy
With Saudi Arabia now so fearful of a rising
Iran, it is quite clearly Pakistan’s payback
time. And Yemen could mark the beginning of
a new and more significant phase in Pakistan’s
involvement in the security politics of the
Gulf.
The civil war in Yemen and the Saudi demand
for military support bring into sharp relief
Pakistan’s longstanding security role in the
Gulf and the Middle East. Pakistan and its
army figured prominently in the plans of
Britain and America for securing the (oil)
“Wells of Power” in the Gulf after World War
II.
Source: The Indian Express, 31 March, 2015
As U.S. and Iran Seek Nuclear Deal,
Saudi Arabia Makes Its Own Moves
Pakistan was drafted into the Central Treaty
Organisation (Cento), also called the Baghdad
Pact, in the mid-1950s. Although the Cento
did not last long, many Gulf kingdoms turned
to India and Pakistan for defence cooperation.
After all, it was undivided India under the Raj
that was the security guarantor for the Gulf
and the Middle East for nearly two centuries.
David D. Kirkpatrick, The New York Times
As America talks to Iran, Saudi Arabia is
lashing out against it. The kingdom, Iran’s
chief regional rival, is leading airstrikes
against an Iranian-backed faction in Yemen;
backing a blitz in Idlib, Syria, by jihadists
fighting the Iranian-backed Assad regime; and
warning Washington not to allow the Iranianbacked militia to capture too much of Iraq
during the fight to roll back the Islamic State,
according to Arab diplomats familiar with the
talks.
As India consciously limited its military role
in the Middle East, Pakistan’s army became a
valuable option for many countries in the
region in providing security against internal
threats, manning and training of military
forces and guarding the national borders.
Pakistan, of course, is not the Raj. It has a
vantage location next to the Middle East and
an Islamist ideology, but not the military and
economic weight to protect the Gulf regimes
on its own. The political equation between
Rawalpindi and the Gulf rapidly altered as the
kingdoms became rich and Pakistan remained
poor.
Through Egypt, a major beneficiary of Saudi
aid, the kingdom is backing plans for a
combined Arab military force to combat
Iranian influence around the region. With
another major aid recipient, Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia is also expected to step up its efforts to
develop a nuclear bomb, potentially setting off
an arms race in the region.
“Taking matters into our own hands is the
name of the game today,” said Jamal
Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist and
former adviser to the government. “A deal will
open up the Saudi appetite and the Turkish
appetite for more nuclear programs. But for
the time being Saudi Arabia is moving ahead
If the Raj defined the terms of regional
security in the Middle East, Pakistan
increasingly became dependent on the
financial support of the Gulf kingdoms. In the
name of Islamic solidarity, Pakistan allowed
the Gulf regimes, especially Saudi Arabia, to
trample on its national sovereignty. Above all,
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 12
with its operations to pull the carpet out from
underneath the Iranians in our region.”
Damascus, Baghdad and Beirut, the last
through its proxy, Hezbollah.
With the approach of a self-imposed Tuesday
night deadline for the framework of a nuclear
deal between Iran and the Western powers, the
talks themselves are already changing the
dynamics of regional politics.
Even if the proposed deal constrains Iran’s
nuclear ambitions, the Saudis and their allies
note, the pact would do nothing to stop Iran
from projecting its influence through such
local proxies and conventional arms.
Sanctions relief from the deal could even
revive the Iranian economy with a flood of
new oil revenues.
The proposed deal would trade relief from
economic sanctions on Iran for insurance
against the risk that Iran might rapidly develop
a nuclear bomb. But many Arab analysts and
diplomats say that security against the nuclear
risk may come at the cost of worsening
ongoing conflicts around the Middle East as
Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies push
back against what they see as efforts by Shiiteled Iran to impose its influence — often on
sectarian battle lines.
“The Americans seem nonchalant about this,
like, ‘This is your sectarian problem, you deal
with it,’ ” Mr. Khashoggi said. “So the Saudis
went ahead with this Yemen operation.”
Watching Secretary of State John Kerry
pursue a deal in Lausanne, Switzerland, many
in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states say their
ultimate fear is that the talks could lead to a
broader détente or even alliance between
Washington and Tehran.
Unless Iran pulls back, “you will see more
direct Arab responses and you will see a
higher level of geopolitical tension in the
whole region,” argued Nabil Fahmy, a veteran
Egyptian diplomat and former foreign
minister.
Washington is already tacitly coordinating
with Iran in its fight against ISIS in Iraq. As a
result, the American-led military campaign is
effectively strengthening the Iranian-backed
government in Syria by weakening its most
dangerous foe, Arab diplomats and analysts
say.
In Yemen, where a bombing campaign by a
Saudi-led coalition killed dozens of civilians
in an errant strike on a camp for displaced
families, the Saudis accuse Iran of supporting
the Houthi movement, which follows a form
of Shiite Islam and recently came close to
taking control of the country’s four largest
cities. (Western diplomats say Iran has
provided money to the group but does not
control it.) In Bahrain, across a short causeway
from Saudi Arabia, the kingdom and its allies
accuse Iran of backing opposition from the
Shiite majority against the Sunni monarchy.
So they wonder what else Mr. Kerry is talking
about with his Iranian
counterpart,
Mohammad Javad Zarif, “on those long walks
together” in Lausanne, said Salman Shaikh,
director of the Brookings Doha Center, in
Qatar. “Is there something going on
underneath the table?”
Easing the hostility between the United States
and Iran would tear up what has been a
bedrock principle of regional politics since the
Iranian revolution and the storming of the
American embassy in 1979. “But let’s not
forget that we are still dealing with the Islamic
And Iran has also cultivated clients in
government in the great Arab capitals of
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 13
Aversion to the Iran deal in the Saudi camp is
also representative of the latest convergence of
views with the Israeli government of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been
deeply critical of the nuclear pact. But “they
can be on the same side without necessarily
talking,” said Mr. Soltan of the American
University in Cairo.
Republic of Iran,” Mr. Shaikh said, reflecting
the skeptical views of many in the Saudi
Arabian camp.
“There is a disbelief in the Arab world that
these negotiations are only about the nuclear
file, and a frequent complaint here is that we
are kept in the dark, we are not consulted,”
said Gamal Abdel Gawad Soltan, a political
scientist at the American University in Cairo.
“The U.S. is much less trusted as an ally, as an
insurance policy towards the security threats
facing the governments in the region, and so
those governments decide to act on their
own.”
Whether an Iran deal is consummated or not,
he and several other analysts said, the
negotiations have contributed to a divergence
with the Obama administration and a growing
desire for greater autonomy among the Sunni
Arab states.
Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies
bucked the Obama administration to sponsor
the military takeover and repression of the
Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 2013, for
example. And last year the United Arab
Emirates carried out airstrikes from Egyptian
bases against Islamist allied militias in Tripoli,
Libya, without notifying Washington. Some
American diplomats were so incredulous that
the U.A.E. acted on its own that they doubted
early reports until a second set of strikes
confirmed them.
President Obama has argued that a verifiable
deal is the best way to secure the Arab states
because it is the most effective way to ensure
that Iran does not obtain a nuclear bomb. Even
military action to take out Iran’s nuclear
facilities, the Obama administration argues,
would set it back only temporarily.
Some analysts further maintain that a nuclear
deal could induce Tehran to adopt a less
confrontational foreign policy as well, by
engaging it in economic and diplomatic
relations with the West and, eventually, its
neighbors. If Iran were less of a pariah, it
would have more to lose, argued Lina Khatib,
director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in
Beirut. “An engaged Iran is a less threatening
Iran,” she said. “I think a nuclear deal with
Iran will have a calming impact on the
region.”
“There are issues that you cannot expect a
superpower to engage in directly because of
their own politics and interests, and if you
don’t have the capabilities or the initiatives to
deal with them yourself then you are not
providing enough of a deterrent to other
regional players,” said Mr. Fahmy, the former
Egyptian foreign minister. He added, speaking
of Arab relations with Washington, “There is a
difference between a security relationship and
a security addiction.”
But she acknowledged that at the moment
Saudi Arabia and its allies did not see it that
way. “The Saudi and Iranian rivalry is being
played out now in a hot war in Iraq, in Syria
and now in Yemen,” she said. “The
confrontation is causing people on both sides
to dig into their sectarian positions.”
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Mr. Khashoggi, the Saudi editor, argued that
Saudi Arabia’s own campaign to push back
against Iran without waiting for the Americans
was showing signs of success. Saudi Arabian
Page 14
The after-the-fact American support for the
military campaign in Yemen, he said, was also
a reassuring sign that Washington was willing
to back Saudi leadership as it pushes back
against Iran across the region. “The Americans
are going along with that,” he said.
and Turkish sponsors, he said, had backed the
coalition of jihadist groups that recently
captured the Syrian city of Idlib in the first
major victory in months against the
government of President Bashar al-Assad.
One participant in the coalition was the Nusra
Front, the Syrian arm of Al Qaeda, a terrorist
group in the eyes of the West. But members of
the jihadi coalition “are the ones who captured
Idlib, it is an important development, and I
think we are going to see more of that,” Mr.
Khashoggi said. “Coordination between
Turkish and Saudi intelligence has never been
as good as now.”
The operation “proved that a regional power
can lead, they do not have to wait for
America,” he said, “and if the issue is moral or
justified, American will get on board.”
Source: The New York Times, 30 March, 2015
STATEMENTS
vibrant people to people contacts. The wideranging discussions were held in a sincere,
friendly and forward looking atmosphere.
There was exchange of views on bilateral,
regional and multilateral issues of mutual
interest.
Joint Statement during the State Visit
of the Emir of the State of Qatar to
India, March 25-26, 2015
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of
the State of Qatar paid a State visit to India
from 24-25 March 2015. The Emir was
accompanied by a high level delegation
comprising Ministers, senior officials,
business leaders and captains of industry. As
part of his official engagements in New Delhi,
the Emir held detailed bilateral discussions
with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Emir
received Vice President Shri Hamid Ansari,
Minister of External Affairs and Overseas
Indian Affairs Smt Sushma Swaraj and
Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra
Pradhan.
The two sides expressed satisfaction at the
regular exchange of visits between the two
countries in recent years. They noted that the
bilateral relationship acquired a new
momentum following the landmark visits of
the then Emir HH Sheikh Hamad bin khalifa
Al Thani to India in 1999, 2005 and 2012 and
received strong impetus with the visit of the
then Prime Minister of India to the State of
Qatar in November 2008.
The two sides discussed ways and means to
build a forward-looking partnership by further
broadening and deepening the bilateral
engagement and by better leveraging the
existing complementarities between the two
countries in key areas of mutual interest
including inter alia, energy, power,
During the official discussions, the two sides
underlined the close and friendly bilateral ties,
deep-rooted in shared history and sustained
and nourished through growing economic
linkages, multi-faceted cooperation and
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 15
iv. MoU between India Meteorological
Department, Ministry of Earth sciences and
Qatar
Meteorological
Department
for
Scientific and Technical cooperation in the
field of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences.
petrochemicals, investments, infrastructure,
development, project exports, education,
culture, health, human resource, media and
information technology.
The two sides stressed the importance of
continuing regular bilateral consultations
through the robust architecture of dialogue in
place, including the Composite Delegation
Mechanism, Foreign Office Consultations and
various joint committees and working groups.
It was emphasized that the sectoral Joint
Working Groups should meet more often to
strengthen cooperation.
v. MoU for cooperation in the field of Radio
and Television between Prasar Bharati and
Qatar Media Corporation.
vi. Agreement for Mutual Cooperation and
Exchange of News between Qatar News
Agency and United New Agency.
HH the Emir expressed appreciation for the
role and contribution of the Indian community
towards the development of Qatar. He noted
with satisfaction that Indians in Qatar were
highly respected for their peaceful and hardworking nature. The Indian side conveyed
sincere thanks to the Qatari leadership for
hosting the Indian community and for
ensuring their continued well-being and
safety.
Both sides noted with satisfaction that the
latest round of Foreign Office Consultations
held in New Delhi in June 2014 were useful in
reviewing progress in bilateral relations and
exchanging views of regional and international
issues of mutual interest. It was decided that
next such consultations would be held in Qatar
in the first half of 2016 and dates will be
decided through diplomatic channels.
Both sides informed each other of their plans
for infrastructure development. The Indian
side highlighted the considerable experience
and expertise its companies had acquired in
infrastructure development, including in
power generation and transmission, civil
construction, railways and metros, hospitals,
airports, housing, roads etc. It conveyed the
interest of the Indian companies to be a
partner in the infrastructure development
projects undertaken by Qatar in preparation
for the FIFA 2022 world cup and the
development plans under vision "2030 for
Qatar".
The two sides welcomed the signing of
following Agreement/MOUs:
i. Agreement between the Government of the
Republic of India and the Government of State
of Qatar on the Transfer of sentenced Persons.
ii. MoU on Mutual Cooperation between the
Foreign Service Institute, Ministry of External
Affairs, Republic of India and the Qatar
Diplomatic Institute, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, State of Qatar.
iii. MoU between Ministry of Communication
and Information Technology, Government of
the Republic of India and the Ministry of
Information and Communication Technology
of the State of Qatar for cooperation in the
field of Information and Communication
Technology.
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
The Indian side invited Qatar to participate in
projects
creating
mega
industrial
manufacturing corridors, including the DelhiMumbai industrial corridor. The Qatari side
expressed keen interest in the flagship-"Make
Page 16
the multilateral system of the UN. The two
sides stressed the need for closer cooperation
in the area of security and counter-terrorism
through regular dialogue, sharing of
information, intelligence and assessments and
training of personnel.
in India” programme. The Indian side also
informed the Qatari side of the Clean Ganga
Programme and Digital India Programme.
The two sides appreciated the close cultural
affinity between Qatar and India, which
continued
to
underpin
the
bilateral
relationship. They lauded the role culture
plays in bringing the people of India and Qatar
together.
The two sides exchanged views on regional
and international issues of mutual interest,
including the security situation in West Asia,
Middle East and South Asia. Both sides also
reiterated the importance of peaceful
resolution of all issues, regional or global
through dialogue.
The two sides condemned terrorism in its all
forms and manifestations and affirmed that it
threatened all societies and was not linked to
any race, colour or faith. Both sides agreed to
strengthen their cooperation in combating
terrorism at both the bilateral level and within
Source: Ministry of External Affairs, India,
26 March, 2015
MEDIAWATCH
Iran agrees to detailed nuclear outline, first
step towards wider deal
India invites Qatar to participate in mega
transport projects
Iran and the United States, along with five
other world powers, announced on Thursday a
surprisingly specific and comprehensive
understanding on limiting Tehran’s nuclear
program for the next 15 years, though they left
several specific issues to a final agreement in
June.
India has
invited
energy-rich
Qatar to
participate in mega transport projects like
Delhi- Mumbai industrial corridor and
conveyed the interest of Indian companies in
involving in projects undertaken by the Gulf
nation as part of its preparation for the 2022
FIFA World Cup.
Source: The New York Times, April 2, 2015
Source: The Economic Times, 26 March, 2015
Operation Raahat: over 600 evacuated
India seeks KSA help to evacuate citizens
In the largest evacuation as part of Operation
Raahat so far, three Air India flights airlifted
488 people from Sana’a to Djibouti while
naval patrol vessel INS Sumitra rescued 203
people, including 19 foreign nationals from
eight countries, from Ash Shihr via Al
Muqalla port.
India asked Saudi Arabia to help evacuate its
citizens from Yemen, where more than 4,000
Indians, over half of them nurses, are caught
up in fighting.
Source: Arab News, 31 March, 2015
Saudi airstrikes target rebel bases in
Yemen
Source: The Hindu, 5 April, 2015
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 17
Saudi Arabia bombed key
military
installations in Yemen after announcing a
broad regional coalition to oust Shiite rebels
that forced the country’s embattled president
to flee.
Iraqi forces take back Tikrit from ISIS,
official says
Iraqi forces battling to wrest Tikrit from ISIS
are now in control of the city, Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi said on Iraqiya TV.
Source: Asharq al-Awsat, 26 March, 2015
Source: CNN, 31 March, 2015
Egypt, Pakistan join military campaign
against Houthis
Al-Shabab attacks
killing at least 147
Pakistan and Egypt announced their
participation in the ongoing Saudi-led military
campaign against Houthis with air and naval
forces.
university,
Masked
al-Shabab
militants
stormed
dormitories at a university in eastern Kenya
early, killing at least 147 people in the worst
terror attack on Kenyan soil in nearly two
decades, officials said.
Source: Al-Arabiya, 26 March, 2015
Source: The Washington Post, 2 April, 2015
Houthi rebels advance in Aden despite air
strikes
EU
welcomes
Saudi
Arabia’s
announcement to meet with all Yemeni
parties
Yemen's Houthi rebels, supported by army
units, have gained ground in the southern city
of Aden, despite an 11th night of coalition air
strikes targeting the group's strongholds.
The European Union welcomed the
announcement of King Salman about the
Saudi Arabia's readiness to meet with all
Yemeni parties adhering to the security and
stability of Yemen.
Source: Aljazeera, 5 April, 2015
Arab League unveils joint military force
amid Yemen crisis
Source: Saudi Press Agency, 31 March, 2015
A two-day Arab summit ended with a vow to
defeat Iranian-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen
and the formal unveiling of plans to form a
joint Arab intervention force.
Saudi-US talks “fruitful and constructive”:
Saudi FM
US Secretary of State John Kerry visited
Riyadh to ease Saudi and Gulf concerns about
an emerging nuclear deal with Iran.
Source: The Indian Express, 30 March, 2015
Al-Qaeda storms Yemen prison, frees
300 inmates
Source: Ashar al-Awsat, 6 March, 2015
Al-Qaeda militants stormed a prison in southeastern Yemen, freeing several hundred
inmates including one of their leaders, a
security official said.
Saudi Arabia becomes world’s biggest arms
importer
Saudi Arabia passed India to become the
world’s biggest arms importer last year as
concerns about Iran’s ambitions increase
tensions in the Middle East.
Source: The Indian Express, 2 April, 2015
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Kenyan
Page 18
Source: The Japan Times, 8 March, 2015
Source: The Wall Street Journal, 13 March,
2015
Boko Haram, Islamic State join forces amid
rising military pressure
Iraqis who support IS will be barred from
liberated areas: Barzani
Islamic State militants have accepted a pledge
of allegiance by the Nigerian-grown Boko
Haram extremist group, a spokesman for the
Islamic State said.
President of The Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) Massoud Barzani told in a
meeting of leaders of Sunni tribes based west
of Mosul that citizens who backed the IS will
not be allowed back into liberated areas.
Source: The Indian Express, 13 March, 2015
International coalition bombing killed 50
Iraqi soldiers in Anbar: MP Fatlawi
Source: Asharq al-Awsat, 16 March, 2015
Israeli PM Netanyahu emerges victorious in
tight election race
The head of Irada bloc MP Hanan al-Fatlawi
claimed that the indiscriminate shelling of the
US-led coalition has left 50 soldiers dead and
dozens of others wounded in Anbar.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
ruling Likud Party scored a resounding victory
in the country’s election.
Source: Iraqi News, 13 March, 2015
Source: The Indian Express, 18 March, 2015
Kerry says US willing to negotiate with
Syria's Assad
Egypt unveils plans to build new capital
east of Cairo
The US will have to negotiate with Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad for a political
transition in Syria and explore ways to
pressure him into agreeing to talks, US
Secretary of State Kerry said.
The Egyptian government has announced
plans to build a new capital. Housing Minister
of Egypt Mostafa Madbouly said the project
would cost $45bn (£30bn) and take five to
seven years to complete.
Source: Aljazeera, 16 March, 2015
Source: BBC, 13 March, 2015
CIA director suggests Iraq functions as
interlocutor in US-Iran fight against IS
Tehran
Riyadh
John Brennan, the director of CIA said that the
US was formally coordinating its airstrikes in
Iraq with Iranian forces and proxies on the
ground.
welcomes
security
talks
with
Iran has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to
take part in security talks with the Islamic
Republic.
Source: The Guardian, 13 March, 2015
Source: Tehran Times, 16 March, 2015
Gulf States pledge aid to Egypt, U.S. Balks
Netanyahu 'still committed' to Palestinian
statehood
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE pledged
$12 billion to help stabilize Egypt’s economy.
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu appears to
have softened his tone from hard-line
statements made during his re-election
Page 19
campaign about the establishment of a
Palestinian state.
Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf expressed
concern over his country’s diplomatic row
with Saudi Arabia, offering to help in
resolving the issue.
Source: Aljazeera, 19 March, 2015
Libyan PM to divert country’s oil revenues
to new account
Source: Al-Arabiya, 22 March, 2015
Yemen crisis: US troops withdraw from air
base
Libya’s internationally recognized government
said it plans to open a bank account abroad to
deposit oil revenues, hoping to divert proceeds
from the industry away from the country’s
rival administration in Tripoli.
The United States has evacuated its remaining
military personnel from Yemen because of the
deteriorating security situation, US officials
have confirmed.
Source: Arab News, 6 April, 2015
Source: BBC, 22 March, 2015
Saudi Arabia invites Iraq's Abadi to visit in
big sign of thaw
Happy with jihad, I won't come back to
India, Kalyan youth with ISIS says
King Salman has invited Iraqi PM al-Abadi to
visit the kingdom, in the biggest sign yet of
improving ties between the countries after
decades of tension.
Fahad Shaikh, one of the four Kalyan youths
who ran away and joined the IS has got in
touch with his family, but rebuffed calls to
return, saying "I am happy with my jihadi
work.”
Source: Reuters, 23 March, 2015
Abbas threatens to turn to ICC over frozen
tax monies
Source: Times of India, 22 March, 2015
U.S. Boosts military presence in gulf waters
as Iran deal inches closer
Palestinian
President
Mahmud
Abbas
threatened to turn to the International Criminal
Court over Israel’s refusal to fully release
hundreds of millions of dollars in tax monies
owed the Palestinian Authority.
Source: Arab News, 6 April, 2015
3,000 U.S. military personnel have moved into
the Persian Gulf region for a military exercise
that coincides with the finalization of a nuclear
agreement with Iran, according to officials
from U.S. Central Command.
Iran accused of sending 30,000 troops to
fight in Iraq
Source: The Washington Free Beacon, 23
March, 2015
Kurdish authorities in Iraq have accused Iran
of sending 30,000 soldiers and military experts
to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Levant (ISIL) group.
Top diplomats rally behind KSA on Yemen
Top foreign diplomats stationed in Riyadh
representing Europe, Americas, Asia and
Africa have lent their strong support to the
military effort of the Arab world led by Saudi
Arabia to end the widespread instability and
chaos in Yemen.
Source: Aljazeera, 23 March, 2015
Swedish king offers to contribute in
resolving issue with Saudi Arabia
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 20
Source: Arab News, 27 March, 2015
Counterterrorism squads have prevented 230
suspected jihadis from departing Australian
airports for the Middle East including at least
three teenage boys this month, officials said.
Oil prices go crazy as Saudi Arabia goes to
war in Yemen
Crude oil prices were back at their highest in
two weeks at $51.32 a barrel after Saudi
Arabia and its allies launched airstrikes
against the Houthi in Yemen.
Source: The Japan Times, 25 March, 2015
Source: Fortune, 26 March, 2015
Canada plans to expand its mission against
Islamic State militants by sending fighter
bombers to attack targets in Syria as well as
Iraq, sources said.
Canada will expand anti-ISIS bombing
campaign to Syria: sources
Iranian FM: Saudi Arabia must end Yemen
attack
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called for
an immediate end to the air strikes on the
Yemeni capital by Saudi Arabia and its
regional allies, saying that such moves will
achieve nothing for the aggressors.
Source: Reuters, 24 March, 2015
Uzbek Group in Afghanistan
allegiance to Islamic State
A group of Uzbeks in northern Afghanistan,
claiming to be from the Islamic Movement of
Uzbekistan (IMU), says it is pledging
allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group.
Source: ABNA, 26 March, 2015
Iran, Russia demand immediate halt to
Saudi-led intervention in Yemen
Source: RFERL, 31 March, 2015
Iran and Russia have called on Saudi Arabia to
halt airstrikes on Yemen as supporters of
Yemen’s ruling Houthi militants stage
demonstrations throughout the country,
protesting against the Saudi-led military
intervention.
An anxious wait in Syrian city held by
insurgents
Residents of the northern Syrian provincial
capital of Idlib are waiting anxiously to learn
who will govern them, and how, after Islamist
insurgent groups hoisted their flags over the
city.
Source: RT, 26 March, 2015
Saudi-Pakistani Forces
exercise “Al-Samsam 5”
start
military
Source: The New York Times, 30 March, 2015
Royal Saudi Land Forces and units of Special
Forces of Pakistani army started the joint
exercise “Al-Samsam 5” in Shamrakh field,
north of Baha region.
Saudi Arabia could launch ground troops
in Yemen
Saudi Arabian ground troops are expected to
march through Yemen, leading to a further
escalation of a conflict in which Riyadh and
its Sunni Arab allies have been fighting Shia
Houthi rebels.
Source: Saudi Press Agency, 30 March, 2015
230 suspected jihadis prevented from
leaving Australia
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
pledge
Page 21
Source: International Business Times, 30
March, 2015
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Marziyeh
Afkham, in a statement on refuted accusations
about Iran sending weapons to Yemen.
Iran rejects arms dispatch accusations
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran, 31
March, 2015
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Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
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Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
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EDITORS
Kanchi Gupta
Sikandar Azam
Volume I, Issue VIII - April 2015
Page 24