Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Sultan is keeping calm and carrying on after this week’s attack by Houthi rebels that saw up to seven missiles to hit Riyadh. And while Riyadh claims to have shot these down — reports are emerging that its US Patriot anti-ballistic defence system may have failed to successfully intercept these.
Yet MBS has much to be thankful for. He has just inked yet another arms deal with Trump Town; this time to the cool tune of $1billion. Meaning that even though the Houthis struck while he was in Washington — he will have something in the bag when he gets back. Though how this will strengthen the Saudi and American argument against suspected Iranian-made weapons finding their way into so-called rebel hands remains to be seen.
In fact, the attack on the Saudi capital could not have come at a better time for the Kingdom. For it plays into Washington and Riyadh’s hardline rhetoric of aggressive Iranian regional ambitions; a narrative that recently saw MBS compare Tehran regime to Hitler in terms of expansionist intentions. And with President Trump appointing two hawks to his administration — the likelihood of Washington tearing up the Iran nuclear pact is all but a slam dunk.
That being said, such posturing can only go on so long. For Yemen is, after all, MBS’ war. Meaning that he gave the go-ahead for his own country and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to bomb one of the poorest nations in the world over what should have remained an internal matter. This is not say nothing of the US Security Council itself concluding — within the first month of the intervention — that Iran neither exerted command nor control over the Houthis. Indeed, just a year before, American intelligence officials reportedly confirmed that Tehran had actively discouraged the Houthis from taking the Yemeni capital.
So, what is the way forward?
While the international community and the UN are right to point out that Iran needs to guarantee more rigid protocols to ensure that its weapons do not end up in ‘rebel’ hands — they must also bear in mind that the Obama administration, in its fight against Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula (AQAP), supplied arms to the then Sana regime. Reports at the time suggested that some of these went missing on arrival. Similarly, the world must be mindful to remind Saudi Arabia to respect international humanitarian law.
The Houthis have said, in the aftermath of Sunday night’s attack, that the halting of airstrikes is a precondition to peace; given that GCC bombs have hit civilians and hospitals and decimated infrastructure. Presently, Yemen is home to the world’s worst cholera epidemic in 50 years. Thus the Americans should nudge Riyadh towards this end. After all, this is exactly what they are demanding of the Afghan Taliban. Just as some members of the White House are urging President Trump to only sit down with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un once the latter has completely disarmed. And Saudi Arabia, as the aggressor nation, shares a greater burden when it comes to stopping the bloodshed.
It is hoped that Russia’s newfound influence in the Kingdom, most recently in terms of a possible oil alliance of up to 20 years, can play some part in pulling Riyadh back from the brink. For the Yemeni people have suffered far too much and for far too long. *
Published in Daily Times, March 29th 2018.