Iran Focus

London, 8 Dec – The Iranian Regime should be held accountable for its horrific crimes against humanity, according to an Iranian-American political scientist.

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh, a leading expert on Iran and US foreign policy, wrote an op-ed for Arab News lamenting that little attention has been given to the Iranian Regime’s role in the assassination of Yemen’s former President, Ali Abdullah Saleh.

While the Houthi gunmen are the ones who pulled the trigger, the Iranian Regime are the ones who effectively loaded the gun and told them where to aim.

Iran Focus

London, 7 Dec – The Iran-backed Houthis are quickly losing power in Yemen, as infighting between them and fellow rebel group the General People’s Congress (GPC) grows, and it is likely that they will take the Iranian Regime down with them.

This break up is not a sudden thing but was widely expected for a long time. Although the groups originally had shared interests, they no longer do, making an alliance fairly pointless.

The Houthis, who used the GPC in an attempt to gain some political legitimacy, are no more than an Iranian proxy and express far greater loyalty to the mullahs who kept them going for this three-year war than the Yemeni people.

Iran Focus

London, 5 Dec – Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the President of Yemen, urged the people in Houthi-controlled areas to rise up against the militias that are backed by Iran. The militias that have just killed their once ally, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a former president of the country.

Hadi spoke to the people in a televised address, reassuring them that the Yemeni army that is surrounding the capital city was working to get rid of the Houthi rebels. He said that he wants to change the course of the war so that a new page can be opened – a future that includes democracy, freedom and pluralism.

Iran Focus

London, 5 Dec – French President Emmanuel Macron called on Iraq to dismantle all militias — including an Iran-backed military force – and open a dialogue with Iraqi Kurdish leaders to ease tensions in a recent press conference.

On December 2, at a joint press conference with Iraqi Kurdish leaders, including Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Macron said: “France calls for a constructive national dialogue to engage in Iraq.”

He continued: “It is essential that there is a gradual demilitarization, in particular of the [Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces] that established itself in the last few years in Iraq, and that all militias be gradually dismantled.”