Yemnite twist on the war on terror

[CEJ]

According to Iran, Saudi Arabia is a terrorist state. Iran has
cultural and religious interests in the large numbers of Shia Arabs
who inhabit countries like Bahrain, S.A. and Yemen. Like Iraq, Iran
has also found itself at odds with Kuwait over oil exploitation in
their neighborhood (the territorial dispute over Gulf waters, fishing,
etc. also has huge implications for offshore oil development).It does
tell you something that a Shiite Persian like Iran's elected leader,
Ahmadenijad, would be feted on the 'Arab streets' (like Hugo Chavez)
while the Saudi leadership has to hide behind a protection racket set
up with the US government and its phony baloney 'security firms' like
Vinnel, Dyncorps, and that clan of influence peddlars, the Bush
family.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avBekro8T3K4&pos=9

Iran Says Saudi Attacks on Yemeni Rebels Are State ‘Terrorism’
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By Paul Tighe and Henry Meyer

Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Iran’s top general denounced Saudi Arabia’s air
strikes against rebels in Yemen as the start of “state terrorism” that
may have consequences throughout the Middle East.

The Saudi government must realize the danger of continuing “Wahhabi
terrorism,” Iran’s state-run Press TV cited Major General Hassan
Firouzabadi as saying in a statement late yesterday in Tehran.

Saudi Arabia two weeks ago began air attacks on Shiite Muslim rebels
who seized territory on the 1,500 kilometer (930- mile) border its
shares with Yemen. Saudi Arabia said Nov. 8 it regained control of its
territory.

Yemen accuses Shiite-led Iran of arming the Houthi rebels, who have
been fighting the government in the northwestern province of Saada
since 2004. Wahhabism, a strict Sunni Muslim movement, is the dominant
form of Islam in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

The Yemen conflict is the prelude for regional conflicts to come,
Press TV cited Firouzabadi as saying. The war is the result of efforts
by the U.S. and U.K. to cause rifts among Muslims around the world, he
said.

Iran’s parliament two days ago condemned Saudi involvement in the
Yemen conflict.

“How can the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques bring himself to permit
the killing of innocent Muslims?” Press TV cited Parliament Speaker
Ali Larijani as saying, referring to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah. The
kingdom is home to Islam’s holy cities of Medina and Mecca, the
birthplace of the prophet Mohammed and the site of the Grand Mosque.

Soldiers Killed

Rebels killed two Saudi soldiers in a cross-border incursion on Nov.
13 in the Jabal al-Dokhan mountains area, the Saudi-owned daily
newspaper As Sharq al-Awsat reported at the time, citing military
officials. At least five Saudi soldiers have been killed since
fighting began on Nov. 4, according to Saudi media.

Iranians are “cooperating in sin and aggression” by supporting the
Houthis, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s grand mufti, said
two days ago, according to the al- Watan newspaper.

The Yemeni navy said it seized an Iranian-crewed ship carrying weapons
off the coast near a rebel stronghold on Oct. 26. Iran denied any
involvement. The Saudi government says its warships are patrolling the
Red Sea to prevent arms reaching the Houthi rebels.

Yemen’s government accuses the Houthis of trying to reinstall the rule
of Shiite imams who were toppled by a republican revolution in
northern Yemen in 1962. The rebels, named after their leader Abdul-
Malik al-Houthi, say they want a greater role for their Zaydi version
of Shiite Islam and are revolting against corruption in the government
and its alliance with the U.S.