Initially Saudi Arabia and its allies had anticipated a one-month air campaign but "it could last five to six months," an official said.
He said the three-day-old campaign had been successful so far, destroying targets including 21 Scud missiles.
He accused Iran of providing "logistical and military support" to the Shiite rebels.
- "According to estimates, there are 5,000 Iranians, (members of the pro-Tehran Lebanese movement) Hezbollah and Iraqi militia on the ground in Yemen," he added.
Gulf diplomats said Saudi Arabia and its allies had decided to intervene after satellite imagery in late January showed the movement of Scud missiles north towards the Saudi border, with the capacity to strike a large part of the kingdom's territory.
The officials said they feared an "Iranian reaction" to their air campaign -- not military action to defend the Huthis but in the form of destabilising measures.
"Iran will respond with terrorist acts in the Gulf," the official said.
He said an Iranian response could be felt in particular in Bahrain -- a Sunni-ruled kingdom with a Shiite majority -- and Saudi Arabia's Shiite-populated Eastern Province, or even in Gulf capitals.
AFP
dailystar.com.lb
28/3/15
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Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi on Saturday accused Tehran of supplying arms to the Shiite Houthi rebel group and of plotting against the Yemeni people....
ReplyDelete“I urge to continue the [Saudi-led military] operation until they [Houthi rebels] will not hand in the arms that Iran was supplying them with for the last several years to wage a war against the state and the people of Yemen,” Hadi said at the Arab League Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.
Hadi added that the coalition’s attacks should also continue until the Houthis "give up on their conspiracy with Iran against Yemen.”
The Shiite Houthi rebels have seized vast territories in Yemen, including the country’s capital of Sanaa forcing the elected government and President Hadi to resign. In February, Hadi managed to flee from his house arrest to the southern Yemeni city of Aden and, later, to leave the country. He also recalled his resignation...............http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150328/1020138470.html#ixzz3VgOpWFso
28/3/15