#17 (12/23/2024-12/30/2024) As tension in Syria defuses, US is heightening the tension in Yemen
Issa Adeli
Researcher, Policy Advisor | US Foreign Affairs and the Middle East | Security and Defense Policy
Edited by Issa Adeli (isadeli.bsky.social)
Last week, for the first time, the US intercepted a projectile from Yemen through its anti-missile THAAD system. In response, Yemen's Houthis managed to shoot down the 13th MQ-9 Reaper drone which cost more than 30 million dollars each. Here are all the headlines about the US foreign policy and the Middle East in the last week:
30
December
“In recent years I had the pleasure of calling him and thanking him for his historic efforts to bring together two great leaders, [Menachem] Begin and [Anwar] Sadat, and forging a peace between Israel and Egypt that remains an anchor of stability throughout the Middle East and North Africa many decades later,” wrote Herzog on X (Read more at?JNS).
30
December
“In this moment of sorrow, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of former American president Jimmy Carter, as well as to the president and the people of the United States of America,” El-Sisi wrote on his social media accounts (Read more at?Al Ahram).
29
December
The US military convoy, including 50 trucks carrying armored vehicles, military equipment, and logistics, is on its way to one of the US military bases in the east and north of Syria through the Al-Waleed border crossing (Read more at?News.AZ).
28
December
It is needed?to ensure the completion of the transition period in an orderly manner, the ministry said.?In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Ankara would not allow Kurdish YPG militia to take shelter in Syria, the ministry spokesperson said (Read more at?Reuters).?
28
December
A former engineer at a semiconductor manufacturer pleaded not guilty on Friday to U.S. charges that he illegally procured technology for an Iranian firm that made a key component of a drone used in a January attack by Iran-backed militants in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members (Read more at?Reuters).
28
December
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused the United States and the United Kingdom of plotting 'terrorist attacks' on Russian bases in Syria to remove its forces from the country.?In a statement released on Saturday, the intelligence agency accused the UK's MI6 and US CIA are directing commanders of the Islamic State to carry out the attacks using drones (Read more at?New Arab).
28
December
The spokesman of?the armed forces of the Houthi movement, officially known as Ansar Allah said that the drone was shot down while it was carrying out missions in the Bayda governorate, an area located between the cities of Sanaa and Aden. He added that the drone was shot down using a "locally-made surface-to-air missile".?With each drone costing approximately $31m, that would mean that the total cost of the downed drones is more than $400m (Read more at?Middle East Eye).
28
December
the cash-rich kingdom has encountered multiple impediments in purchasing the stealthy US combat aircraft. For one, Saudi Arabia has been accused of carrying out widespread human rights violations and civilian deaths through its intervention in Yemen’s civil war.?Currently, only three countries have an operational fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, including the United States, China, and Russia.?China has two fifth-generation stealth aircraft: the J-20 Mighty Dragon and the newly unveiled J-35. Since China is unlikely to export the J-20 for security reasons, the J-35A, designed with an eye on export, is the only available option for an interested buyer.?Unlike the US and China, Russia has one stealth fighter to offer, Su-57 Felon.?The latest reports in local Turkish media claim that Saudi Arabia is mulling the purchase of 100 KAAN fifth-generation stealth fighter jets from Turkey (Read more at?Euroasiantimes).
28
December
The US called on all parties in the Eastern Mediterranean to avoid actions that could escalate tensions, emphasizing the need for regional resource development to foster collaboration, energy security, and economic stability (Read more at?Ekathimerini).
27
December
U.S. airstrikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen will continue as long as the specially designated global terrorist group continues to pose a threat to Israel and international shipping, a White House adviser said.?John Kirby, the White House national security communications advisor, said that the focus is on undermining the Houthis’ ability to launch attacks in the Red Sea?(Read more at?JNS).
27
December
An advanced U.S. military anti-missile system was used in Israel to try to intercept a projectile for the first time since President Joe Biden placed the system in Israel in October (Read more at?Reuters).
27
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December
The attack targeted the September 21 Park in the Ma'ain district of Sanaa.?The broadcaster, however, didn't provide details about injuries or damage from the strike.?There was no immediate comment from Washington or London on the report.?The attack came one day after Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Sanaa and the coastal province of Al-Hudaydah in western Yemen (Read more at?Anadolu Ajans?).
26
December
Under the deal, Egypt will acquire $630 million worth of Lockheed Martin Hellfire missiles, spare parts, and training, alongside $30 million worth of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS). Additionally, Egypt will acquire $4.69 billion worth of equipment to support its M1A1 Abrams tank fleet, which it co-produces with the US. Meanwhile, Morocco received approval to purchase 500 GBU-39B Small Diameter Bombs valued at $86 million and $88.4 million worth of AIM-120C-8 air-to-air missiles for its F-16V jets (Read more at?Africa.com).
26
December
An F/A-18 Super Hornet was forced to take “evasive maneuvers” after an SM-2 missile fired from the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg passed within 100 feet (30 meters) of the aircraft (Read more at?Defense Post).
25
December
Houthi Supreme Political Council Member Mohammed Ali al-Houthi issued a stark warning to Washington in a video on X.?"We caution Americans against targeting Yemen. If they do not stop, we will strike US interests in the region, ignoring any red lines," said al-Houthi. "Either Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Yemen will cease, or we will target sensitive American assets to deliver our message." (Read more at?Anadolu Ajans?)
23
December
Elbridge Colby has said the US should stop focusing on the Middle East, and turn its military's attention to China.?Colby did, however, emphasise that the US priorities in the region include ensuring Israel's security, preventing the Gulf states from becoming hostile and lastly preventing transnational terrorism. But he argued that all three could be pursued without the expansive physical footprint that the US employs in the Middle East (Read more at?Middle East Eye).
23
December
Six current and former students allege the school violated the students’ constitutional rights.?The federal lawsuit was filed on Friday in the?US?District Court in Detroit. The plaintiffs allege that the school violated the students’ constitutional rights to free speech, due process and equal protection under the law (Read more at?Middle East Eye).
23
December
The Pentagon said that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown, and Chief of General Staff, Gen. Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, spoke about the importance of peacefully de-escalating tensions in the region.?The two generals spoke about ways to increase the strength of the bilateral relationship between the US and Saudi Arabian militaries, including capacity building, military training, and exercises (Read more at?Al Arabiya).
Good Articles
26
December
The initial diplomatic signals from President-elect Trump’s team suggest a shift, with reports indicating a call for Qatar to reinstate Hamas leaders to Doha. This starkly contrasts with recent moves by the Biden administration, which pressured Qatar to distance itself from Hamas. The Trump administration must address Qatar’s international positioning. As host of the 2025 U.N. anti-corruption summit, Qatar has portrayed itself as a global leader in combating corruption. The administration should challenge this narrative by ensuring accountability for Doha’s domestic and international actions.?For Trump, the path forward is clear: Qatar must earn its privileges as a U.S. ally. A failure to reset the relationship would allow Qatar to continue benefiting from U.S. trust while undermining shared values and priorities (Read more at?ASEAN News).
26
December
To put it very simply, Qatar is willing to be (almost) everyone’s friend. It hosts Hamas and Taliban representatives along with a U.S. embassy and a U.S. military base, while even Israeli officials stop by now and then. Qatar’s open-door policy has made it a go-to mediator in many of the world’s conflicts; indeed, mediation is a pillar of Qatar’s foreign policy, giving it outsized influence.?But that approach also has left Qatar open to questions in the U.S., Israel and beyond about whether it is truly a friend to anyone. Some argue the U.S. shouldn’t depend on Qatar as a partner or an intermediary (Read more at?Politico).
26
December
the reality is that the sanctions on HTS are a drop in the bucket, compared to an overlapping sanctions regime on Syria that was five decades in the making, predating even the 2011 Arab Spring and Syrian civil war.?American exports to Syria were all but prohibited, except for food and basic medicines. US sanctions on Syria ramped up massively after Assad's brutal crackdown on protesters and as the civil war raged.?In 2020, a US company was?awarded?a sanctions waiver to develop oil fields in the region, but that project?withered. (Read more at?Middle East Eye).
27
December
This represents a strategic goal. To invest in a Creole service but ignore a country of nearly 90 million people is national security negligence. Turkey today is among the?most anti-American countries?on earth; according to the Pew Research Center, Russians have a more positive attitude toward the United States than Turks. Yet neither Democratic nor Republican administrations address the problem by effectively countering Erdo?an’s poisonous, terror-sympathizing, and racist ideology and narratives (Read more at?American Enterprise Institute).
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Edited by Issa Adeli (isadeli.bsky.social)