Iraqi President and Saudi Ambassador Spar over Intervention in Yemen

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi questioned the Saudi intervention in Yemen in comments to reporters in Washington yesterday. “There is no logic to the operation at all in the first place,” he said. “Mainly, the problem of Yemen is within Yemen.” Abadi said the Obama Administration shared his concerns, but “What I understand from the administration, the Saudis are not helpful on this. They don’t want a ceasefire now.” The Obama Administration denied criticizing the Saudi intervention, and the Saudi ambassador to the United States responded that there was “no logic” to Abadi’s remarks at a press conference yesterday afternoon. Abadi also expressed concerns that the intervention in Yemen could be indicative of Saudi expansionist plans in the region. “The dangerous thing is we don’t know what the Saudis want to do after this,” he said. “The idea that you intervene in another state unprovoked just for regional ambition is wrong.”

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are discussing plans for a “major military manoeuvre” to be held in Saudi Arabia. The proposed drills are seen as a possible precursor to escalating the Saudi intervention in Yemen. Separately, the United Nations said that Jamal Benomar, who has been the special envoy to Yemen for four years, will be stepping down from his position.

Bahrain Continues Crackdown Ahead of F1 Race

Human rights watchdog group Amnesty International condemned Bahrain’s continuing crackdown on political dissent ahead of the Formula One Grand Prix this weekend in Manama. A new report describes the abuse and torture of activists, including the testimony of one protester who was beaten with the claw of a hammer. The government banned public protests in 2013 and in December arrested the leader of Al-Wefaq, the opposition party. “Four years on from the uprising, repression is widespread and rampant abuses by the security forces continues. Bahrain’s authorities must prove that the promises of reform they have made are more than empty rhetoric,” Amnesty’s Said Boumedouha said.

Headlines

• The Islamic State seized several towns yesterday near Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar Province.

• An official from Egypt’s Ministry of Education is under investigation after an incident in which she burned books accused of inciting extremism.

• The first Armenian senior advisor to the president of Turkey has left his position after telling a newspaper “If accepting that what happened in Bosnia and Africa were genocides, it is impossible not to call what happened to Armenians in 1915 genocide too;” government officials said he retired because of his age.

• The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had held “constructive” talks in Tehran on Wednesday as part of its continuing investigation into the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.

• The U.N. special tribunal investigating the death of Lebanese President Rafik Hariri has begun trying individuals from the Al-Jadeed television network, accusing them of contempt of court for reporting the names of confidential witnesses.

-J. Dana Stuster

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