Persian Gulf update 11/05/2017..Saudi Arabia's stock market falls amid arrest of several princes, ministers

Yemeni TV station shows launch of missile, says aimed at Saudi King Khaled airport

Yemen’s Ansarullah forces fires missile at Riyadh international airport

TRT World reporter Abubakr Al Shamahi discusses the missile attack

Yemeni Army’s Ballistic Missile Hit Malik Khalid Airport in Saudi Arabia

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The Yemeni Army confirmed on Sunday that it targeted Saudi Arabia’s Malik (King) Khalid international airport in Riyadh with a long distance Borkan H2 ballistic missile. “Our Yemeni forces succeeded in launching a missile, a Borkan H2 long distance missile, at the King Khalid international airport in Northeastern Riyadh which was in response to the massacres committed by the US-Saudi coalition in Yemen,” Colonel Aziz Rashed, a Spokesman for the Yemeni army, said early on Sunday. “This comes in order to even out power between the coalition and Yemen, who have been attempting to fight more than one country in the past three years,” he added. Riyadh has also confirmed the launch, but saying that Saudi Arabia’s air defense intercepted the missile, bringing it down to the North of the airport. “I have underlined many times that the enemies’ capital cities are within the range of our ballistic missiles that will possibly be launched to retaliate continuation of massacre of the Yemeni people,” the spokesman for the Yemen’s Ansarullah movement said.

Saudi Arabia launches new airstrikes on Yemen

Saudi-led airstrike hits major Sanaa square

Saudi Airstrikes Hit Yemen’s Capital City

Saudi-led coalition warplanes waged a series of airstrikes on targets in the Yemeni capital Sana’a overnight and early Sunday morning. The warplanes hit several targets inside Sana’a, including the platform of al-Sabeen square, the nearby presidential palace, the national security headquarters, the interior ministry and the air-defense bases in the capital’s mountains of Attan and Noqom, Xinhua quoted Houthi-run Saba news agency as reporting. Saba reported over 15 airstrikes on the targets inside Sana’a and an approximate number of airstrikes on military targets on the outskirts of Sana’a and around it. These targets have been hit by the coalition fighter jets for hundreds of times since the beginning of the war two and a half years ago. Resident houses and properties nearby the targeted places in Sana’a were slightly damaged. There were no reported casualties from the airstrikes overnight and early Sunday morning. Saudi royal family forms committee, arrests princes, ministers

Cabinet reshuffle, crackdown on corruption in latest Saudi purge

Saudi Arabia arrests 11 princes & dozens of ministers

Saudi Arabia’s stock market falls amid arrest of several princes, ministers over corruption

Saudi Princes Detained: James Dorsey joins the discussion

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Saudi Arabia has ordered the arrest of at least 11 Saudi princes and four incumbent ministers of the Saudi government, an Arab media outlet reported on Sunday.

RT quoted Al-Arabiya news as saying that the minister of the National Guard and the minister of economy are among the arrested officials.

A new anti-corruption committee chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was created late Saturday by royal decree of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s official news agency, Al-Arabia, published on Saturday.

The decree appoints the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, to lead the committee, granting it broad powers to fight corruption.

The committee is exempted from “laws, regulations, instructions, orders and decision” while performing its wide range of duties, namely “identifying offenses, crimes, persons and entities” complicit in corruption, and gives it the power to impose punitive measures on those caught red-handed. Those include asset freezes, travel bans and arrests.

The committee made its first arrests hours after it was created, detaining 11 princes, four current ministers as well as “tens” of ex-ministers of the Saudi government in connection with newly opened corruption probes, Al-Arabiya reported.

Minister of the National Guard Prince Miteb bin Abdullah and Economy Minister Adel Fakeih are among those arrested, Al Arabiya cited a senior Saudi official as saying, on condition of anonymity. Alwaleed al-Ibrahim, owner of television network MBC, was also detained.

Dozens of former ministers were arrested by the Crown Prince committee, including a former governor of Riyadh province, former finance minister, and former chief of the Royal Court.

The committee said it is relaunching a probe into the devastating floods that killed over 120 people in the city of Jeddah in 2009, while inflicting millions in property damage. In wake of the wide-ranging investigation, concluded in December 2014, the Saudi court found 45 people guilty, including senior officials, on charges of bribery, misuse of power and public funds, money laundering and illicit business operations.

Another high-profile case resumed by the anti-corruption committee is the investigation into the outbreak of the so-called Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus in Saudi Arabia in 2014, which resulted in nearly 300 deaths and the ouster of the country’s health minister.

Most senior Saudi officials in charge of state oversight, investigation and prosecution will sit on the committee, which will comprise the attorney general and the heads of state security, anti-corruption authority, audit bureau, and the chair of the monitoring and investigation commission.

“In view of what we have noticed of exploitation by some of the weak souls who have put their own interests above the public interest, in order to illicitly accrue money,” the Saudi King said in a statement, explaining the need to form the body.

PM’s resignation sparks war of words with Iran

Iran rejects ‘unfounded accusations’ by Hariri

Lebanon: ‘A Saudi decision’- Hezbollah leader Nasrallah on PM Hariri’s resignation

The resignation of Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri “was a Saudi decision,” Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address from Beirut on Sunday. “This text is not Lebanese, this text was written by Saudi Arabia and the writing is Saudi; whereas the prime minister only read it,” Nasrallah said.

Iran: Hariri resignation scenario for tension

Commander: US Unaware of IRGC Navy’s High Capabilities

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi underlined his forces’ high preparedness to confront enemies, noting that Washington is not aware of the IRGC’s naval power.

“The IRGC Navy has used all its capacities to enhance security in the Persian Gulf and is now at the highest level of preparedness and capabilities,” General Fadavi said on Sunday.

Noting that the IRGC Navy has never been as powerful as today, he said, “The Americans are not aware of the IRGC Navy’s high capabilities and the US statesmen will understand it when their warships sink in the Persian Gulf (in case of any war between the two sides).”

In relevant remarks in 2014, General Fadavi said his forces have been drilling how to destroy US warships for the last several years, underlining that the IRGC Navy can sink a US aircraft carrier in less than a minute.

He said the US air combat power overseas is totally dependent on the fighter jets flying from its aircraft carriers, and this has made these vessels a natural and high value target for the IRGC Navy in any possible war.

The Admiral said his forces have, thus, been conducting routine drills on how to sink US vessels in any potential combat, specially in the Persian Gulf, adding that they have gained good knowledge of the “design, construction and structure of the US warships”.

He said Iran has produced “replicas of the US aircraft carriers” for IRGC Navy drills.

“They (Americans) know nothing. We have been making and sinking replicas of US destroyers, frigates and warships for long years, and we have sunk the replica of their vessels in 50 seconds through a series of operational measures,” added Fadavi.

“We practice the same drills on replica aircraft carriers because sinking and destroying US warships has, is and will be on our agenda,” he reiterated.

Such drills have been conducted on a replica of a US warship 202m in length, General Fadavi said at the time.