Amid concern about civilian casualties in Yemen, the United States is cutting back on arms sales to Saudi Arabia – at a time when the Britain, the kingdom's other main supplier, is trying to increase them.
The US has decided not to go ahead with a $350 million sale of 16,000 guidance systems...
Blog archive: Saudi Arabia
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14th December 2016
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8th December 2016A British flag flying shamelessly alongside those of repressive Gulf regimes at the GCC summit in Bahrain yesterday signalled the opening of what prime minister Theresa May hails as "a new chapter" in foreign relations. Mrs May has decided that when Britain extricates itself from Europe the...
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6th December 2016Britain's prime minister, Theresa May, is in Bahrain today for the annual summit of the rich autocrats' club, the Gulf Cooperation Council. As the official announcement from Downing Street excitedly points out, she is the first British prime minister – and the first woman – ever to attend...
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30th October 2016Multiple airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen hit two prisons in a Houthi-run security complex yesterday, reportedly killing dozens of people, including prisoners. Other strikes which hit houses in Taiz province are reported to have wiped out two families, including women and...
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27th October 2016Britain's parliament yesterday rejected calls for "a full independent UN-led investigation" into alleged war crimes in Yemen and for suspension of British support to the Saudi-led coalition "until it has been determined whether they have been responsible for any such violations". A motion...
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20th October 2016In a story labelled "exclusive", Reuters reports that Iran has stepped up transfers of weapons to Yemen's Houthis: "The increased pace of transfers in recent months, which officials said include missiles and small arms, could exacerbate a security headache for the United States ... "...
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18th October 2016Within hours of airstrikes that killed at least 140 Yemenis attending a funeral on October 8, the Saudi-led coalition flatly denied any involvement. A week later, the Saudis threw up their hands and admitted responsibility. So how did this sudden U-turn come about? The Saudis might be still...
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17th October 2016Yesterday the United States, Britain and the UN's special envoy issued a joint call for a rapid and unconditional ceasefire in Yemen. "We are not calling for this in a vacuum," US secretary of state John Kerry said; there have been "communications" with representatives of the Houthis...
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15th October 2016Saudi Arabia now accepts that it should not have bombed the funeral in Yemen last Saturday, killing at least 140 people and injuring more than 500. A statement issued today through the Saudi government news agency blamed the kingdom's Yemeni allies for instigating the attack based on...
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14th October 2016Saudi Arabia is surely relieved. Less than a week after its coalition warplanes committed the worst atrocity of the Yemen war so far, killing at least 140 people at a funeral and injuring more than 500, the heat is off and the media focus has shifted to Iran. The bombing in the Yemeni...
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13th October 2016The United States, which has been anxious not to acquire the legal status of "co-belligerent" in the Yemen war, yesterday fired Tomahawk cruise missiles at three radar stations on Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory. The strikes signal a further escalation of tensions in the Red Sea which have been...
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12th October 2016What was meant to end in a swift victory for the coalition is rapidly turning into a protracted civil war with grave humanitarian consequences. The Saudi-led intervention has wreaked havoc on Yemen and inflamed sectarian rifts across the Gulf region. Eight months after Saudi Arabia said its...
