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The following is research published today from MEMRI’s Special Dispatch Series, the MEMRI TV Project and the MEMRI Iran Blog.
*Special Dispatch Series
Inquiry & Analysis No. 604 – Saudi Arabia/Yemen/Inter-Arab Relations
Saudi Arabia's War against the Houthis
By: L. Barkan*
In early November 2009, following several years of fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, Saudi Arabia launched a military offensive against Houthis rebels in northern Yemen in retaliation for their infiltration of its territory. In the course of this offensive, Saudi Arabia took some controversial measures which received little attention in the press or among the public in the region and internationally. By its own admission, Saudi Arabia operated against the Houthis in international waters, including by sinking boats, while the Houthis and their supporters reported Saudi airstrikes inside Yemen's territory, including by means of phosphorus bombs.
It should be noted that the Saudis regarded the offensive as a watershed, and as an opportunity to resolve the problems on the Yemeni border once and for all by stemming the influx of terrorists, smugglers, and African illegal immigrants who infiltrate the country via this border. To this end, the Saudis took steps to turn the border province of Jazan into a security zone by evacuating Saudi citizens and leveling entire areas. Fighting between the Saudi military and the Houthis ceased on February 11, 2010, when the Houthis unilaterally declared a cease-fire.
To read the full report, visit http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/4122.htm.
*From The MEMRI TV Project
MEMRI TV Clip No. 2450 - Afghan Soldier Defects to the Taliban after Killing Polish Soldiers
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/2450.htm.
*From The MEMRI Iran Blog
The following items are from the MEMRI Iran Blog – Visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran daily.
Khamenei Reviews Iran's Aerospace and Nuclear Research Achievements, Says Sanctions Won't Break Iran
In a speech marking Iranian Labor Day, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reviewed the country's aerospace, nuclear, and genetic research achievements, saying that Iran had successfully produced advanced second- and third-generation centrifuges and advanced rockets and satellite carriers.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26710.htm .
Top Iranian Intelligence Official: Enemy Has Lost Its Intel War On Iran
A top Iranian official has warned against the intelligence war waged on the Islamic Republic of Iran, particularly following the post-election unrest. An intelligence official was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying that the U.S. and Western powers had made strenuous efforts to "convince the Iranian nation into believing that there was a rift among high officials" in order to undermine the "credibility" of the country's leadership.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26714.htm.
Khamenei Advisor: I Brought First Centrifuges To Iran From Pakistan In 1986-7
In an interview with the Iranian weekly Panjereh, Ali Akbar Velayati, advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stated that when he visited Pakistan as Iranian foreign minister in 1986-7, he had brought back with him to Tehran the apparatus for the first centrifuge, without the knowledge of the Pakistani regime.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26711.htm.
Iran, Syria Reaffirm Unshakable Ties
Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi has criticized Western powers for spewing Iranophobic propaganda in the Middle East. He made the remarks during a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus today, ahead of the 12th session of a joint Syrian-Iranian commission aimed at strengthening diplomatic and economic ties.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26713.htm.
Senior Iranian Army Official: Foreign Forces 'Source of Insecurity' in Region
A senior Iranian military commander has called the world powers' military buildup in the Persian Gulf the root cause of the current security crisis in the region, and asked for regional cooperation to establish peace and security in the region.
"Alien and hegemonic forces' interference and presence is the source of insecurity and security crisis in the region, the Persian Gulf in particular," Iranian Armed Forces Deputy Chief of Staff for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brig.-Gen. Masoud Jazayeri said today.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26686.htm.
Iran Plans New Satellite Launch
Iran plans to launch new satellites for data and image transmission by March next year, Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour has said. "The satellites, which will be sent into space this year, have telecommunications and filming applications," Taqipour said in Moscow, where he met with his Russian counterpart Igor Shchegolev.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26685.htm.
Senior Majlis Member: Iran Capable of Blocking Strait of Hormuz
The Iranian Navy has the capability to block the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf as a tactic to fight back against further sanctions on the country, a prominent Iranian legislator cautioned.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26684.htm.
IRGC: Iran's Recent War Games Highly Important for Regional Security
A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) stressed that Iran's recent war games in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz can play a key role in promoting regional security.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26683.htm.
Iranian DM: Iran Mass-Produces All Missiles Tested in Recent IRGC War Games
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi has announced that all the missiles test-fired by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) during the recent Great Prophet 5 war games in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz are "home-made and already mass-produced (by the country's Defense Ministry)."
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26682.htm.
Iranian Regime Bans Sunni Public Prayers
The London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reports, citing Sunni sources in Tehran, that the Iranian regime decided yesterday to ban its Sunni citizens from holding public prayers at universities in Tehran and other cities, in military camps; the ban also applies to Friday prayers in private homes.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26679.htm.
Iranian Website: U.S. Will Cause Earthquake In Iran– To Incite World Against It
The Iranian website Haghighat News, which is identified with supporters of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stated that the U.S. is likely to cause an earthquake in Tehran with the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP).
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26676.htm.
Iranian Daily: Russia Has Adopted Anti-Iran Stance
The Iranian daily Tehran-e Emrooz stated that the upcoming visit of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev to Turkey is aimed at persuading Turkey to support anti-Iran sanctions, and that the move is part of Russia's newly adopted anti-Iran stance.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26674.htm.
Senior Iranian Majlis Member : Obama's Positions Endanger Global Peace
U.S. President Barack Obama's recent remarks, in which he threatened Iran with nuclear attack, jeopardize peace and security in the world, a senior Iranian lawmaker warned.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26669.htm.
Iranian Official: The Result of a Nuclear Attack by Israel Will Be the Destruction of Its Regime and of American, French Military Bases
Hossein Sheikholeslam, an advisor to the Iranian Majlis speaker, responded to the statements of French President Nicolas Sarkozy regarding a possible Israeli attack on Iran.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26646.htm.
Brazilian Foreign Minister: We Are Working with Turkey to Prevent Sanctions on Iran
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim told the Iranian news agency Fars that Brazil and Turkey were seeking a way to prevent the imposing of sanctions on Iran.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26645.htm.
Senior IRGC Officials: The Sanctions on Iran Are Laughable
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) political bureau head Yadollah Javani said that that IRGC could easily replace the Western companies Shell and Total as a supplier of energy, so that the sanctions involving them were "laughable".
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26606.htm.
Mottaki: The Americans Acknowledge that Nuclear Threat Affair Was Rooted in a Mistranslation
During a visit to Vienna, Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said that U.S. officials acknowledged that what Iran had percieved as Obama's threat to use nuclear weapons against it had actually been based on a mistake in translation and transfer of information.
To read the full report, visit http://www.thememriblog.org/iran/blog_personal/en/26603.htm.
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