Thursday, July 23, 2015

Saudi Arabia is pivotal to stability in the Middle East.

July 24, 2015

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) " Saudi Arabia's foreign minister (click here) says the Iran nuclear deal appears to have the provisions needed to curtail Iran's ability to obtain an atomic weapon.
Adel Al-Jubeir's remarks Thursday were the most favorable so far from the kingdom, which has been skeptical of the U.S.-led deal struck earlier this month between world powers and Iran, Saudi's regional rival.
Al-Jubeir says the kingdom has been reassured by Washington while consultations continue about the deal. He says it allows for effective inspections, including of military sites, and the possibility of snap-back sanctions.
Al-Jubeir, who visited Washington in mid-July, says the Saudis are "currently in talks with the American government regarding these details, but it (the deal) generally seems to have achieved these objectives."
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter visited the kingdom Wednesday.

July 17, 2015
By Saeed Al-Batati and Kareem Fahim
 
AL MUKALLA, Yemen — The exiled Yemeni government (click here) said Friday that Saudi-backed fighters had “completely liberated” the southern city of Aden from the Houthi rebels who had tried for months to bring it under their control.
Witnesses in the city said that at least one neighborhood was still contested and that Houthi snipers remained active in several others. But rapid gains by the anti-Houthi fighters over the past few days appeared hard to reverse and potentially gave Saudi Arabia, which has been bombing the Houthis since late March and backing their opponents, its first battlefield victory.
The Yemeni prime minister, Khaled Bahah, called the gains a “historic moment” and said his government would quickly turn to repairing the devastation in Aden. The steady destruction of the city, Yemen’s second largest, has come to symbolize the hardships and horrors visited on civilians, including shelling, airstrikes and chronic shortages of water and electricity....

Saudi Arabia should seek talks with Iran and be accompanied by the King of Jordan and quite possibly the USA State Department and other Arab allies. The Iranian nuclear agreements have to be built on and the success will be long lasting.
 
CLOSE ALLIES: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman receives US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah. (SPA)

July 23, 2015
By Arab News
 
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia (click here) sought assurances on Wednesday that the United States stands firmly against Iranian “interference” in the Middle East during a visit by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter.
Carter held talks in Jeddah with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and said Iran’s “potential for aggression” was a shared concern.
During their meeting, the US official conveyed to the king the greetings of US President Barack Obama; for his part, the king sent his greetings to Obama.
Carter told reporters aboard his plane that both the king and the defense minister reiterated their support of the Iranian nuclear deal....