Latest news with #MohammedHamoud
Newsweek
a day ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Where Are Iran's Allies Amid 'War' With Israel?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Facing the most devastating attacks since its 1980s war with Iraq, Iran has described the still-ongoing Israeli assault as a "declaration of war," the harshest language yet in a decadeslong rivalry now trending toward full-scale conflict. But despite having invested in a sprawling network of allies across the Middle East, Iran finds its "Axis of Resistance" coalition severely weakened as a result of an exhausting battle with Israel, sparked by an October 7, 2023, surprise attack led by the Palestinian Hamas movement. Hamas condemned the Israeli strikes against Iran, which began late Thursday, but the group remains mired in its 20-month fight in the Gaza Strip. Other groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and factions aligned with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have also criticized Israel's actions, but they have fallen short of pledging intervention. An Israeli military official told Newsweek the strikes were part of what has been dubbed "Operation Rising Lion," conducted in response to intelligence indicating that Iran had obtained enough material to produce up to 15 nuclear bombs. Thus far, only one group, Yemen's Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthi movement, has pledged new attacks against Israel, part of a continuous campaign tied to the war in Gaza. With Israeli strikes still targeting Iranian military sites, nuclear facilities and senior leaders, factions of the Axis of Resistance are carefully measuring their reactions in comments shared with Newsweek and published to official channels. Ansar Allah forces take part in a mass protest held against the Israeli continued bombardment and blockade of people in the Gaza Strip on May 23 in Sanaa, Yemen. Ansar Allah forces take part in a mass protest held against the Israeli continued bombardment and blockade of people in the Gaza Strip on May 23 in Sanaa, Yemen. Mohammed Hamoud/AFP/Getty Images Ansar Allah Ansar Allah has emerged as the most active member of the Axis of Resistance in the fight against Israel. The group has pressed on with missile and drone strikes, even after agreeing to halt attacks on commercial vessels and U.S. warships in a deal struck last month with President Donald Trump's administration. The group claimed its most recent attack on Wednesday, just hours after the Israeli Navy launched an unprecedented strike on Yemen's crucial Al-Hodeidah port. That same day, as reports mounted of an anticipated large-scale Israeli attack on Iran, an Ansar Allah source told Newsweek such an operation would prove "dangerous and will drag the entire region into the abyss of war." On Friday, with Iran under repeated attack, the Ansar Allah source said the group would continue its long-range offensive. "We have been at war for some time with the Zionist enemy entity," the Ansar Allah source told Newsweek. "And our support for Gaza and our defense of our country against the Zionist aggression against it has continued, before and after the Zionist aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran." Men dressed in military fatigues stand next to the coffins of Hezbollah official Hassan Bdeir (R) and his son Ali (L) who were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted their apartment the previous day,... Men dressed in military fatigues stand next to the coffins of Hezbollah official Hassan Bdeir (R) and his son Ali (L) who were killed in an Israeli strike that targeted their apartment the previous day, ahead of their funeral procession in Beirut's southern suburbs on April 2. More ANWAR AMRO/AFP/Getty Images Hezbollah Hezbollah was previously regarded as the most powerful faction of the Axis of Resistance, having fought two wars against Israel, both of which ended with a ceasefire and both sides declaring victory. The war in Gaza marked the third major confrontation between the two foes. Once again, both sides portrayed the subsequent truce signed on November 27, 2024, as win for their respective sides, but the losses suffered by Hezbollah were considerable. The group's longtime leader, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in a September airstrike in Beirut, and scores of other senior commanders and military equipment was lost due to intensified Israeli operations. Hezbollah has since sought to regroup. But the effort is complicated by the downfall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, another key Axis of Resistance member, to an Islamist-led rebel offensive launched the same day as the ceasefire with Israel, cutting off a critical route through allies in Syria, Iraq and Iran. Meanwhile, Israel has continued to strike alleged Hezbollah targets in Lebanon despite the truce, to which the group says it remains committed after the Israeli attacks on Iran. "Hezbollah is committed to the ceasefire agreement, even though Israel has not respected this commitment over the past period," a Hezbollah spokesperson told Newsweek on Friday. "It continues to kill, assassinate, and attack areas, including entering border villages and remaining at the five points." In a statement issued that same day, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem said neither the U.S. nor Israel would "be able to influence the choices of the Islamic Republic of Iran, nor its role and position," and "rather, its dignity and resilience will increase, and the Israeli entity will regret its barbarism and brutality." "We, in Hezbollah, our Islamic Resistance, and our struggling people, adhere to our approach and resistance, and we support the Islamic Republic of Iran in its rights and position, and in all the steps and measures it takes to defend itself and its choices," Qassem said. "The criminal Israeli enemy and its tyrannical sponsor, America, will reap nothing but shame, disgrace, and loss." An Iraqi paramilitary soldier attends a rally on the annual Al-Quds Day, a holiday established by Iran to commemorate Palestinian and Islamic claims to Jerusalem, in Baghdad on March 28. An Iraqi paramilitary soldier attends a rally on the annual Al-Quds Day, a holiday established by Iran to commemorate Palestinian and Islamic claims to Jerusalem, in Baghdad on March 28. Hadi Mizban/AP Islamic Resistance in Iraq The Islamic Resistance in Iraq is an umbrella term used by a number of Iraqi militias aligned with the broader Axis of Resistance coalition. Among the most powerful groups include Kataib Hezbollah and the Nujaba Movement, both of which are also officially members of the Iraqi state-sponsored Popular Mobilization Forces paramilitary network, though they often operate independently of the government. Like Ansar Allah, Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias have conducted dozens of missile and drone attacks against Israel, though the campaign has largely been paused since an initial Israel-Hamas ceasefire was reached in January. The groups have yet to announce new operations after the truce broke down in March and Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has also claimed dozens of attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, though these operations have been largely paused since then-President Joe Biden announced in February of last year the beginning of consultations for the gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. A plan was announced in September that would see the U.S. draw down its military presence in two phases. Trump has yet to commit to the plan, however, and Iraqi militias have repeatedly told Newsweek attacks on U.S. forces would resume if U.S. troops remained in the country indefinitely. This call for the expulsion of U.S. forces in Iraq was renewed in a statement issued Thursday by Kataib Hezbollah and circulated across social media in response to the Israeli attacks on Iran. "American forces in Iraq paved the way for this aggression by opening Iraqi airspace to provide safe passage for the Zionist air force to commit its crimes against neighboring Iran and its Muslim people," the group said. "If it is said that we do not want Iraq to be a battlefield, then it is necessary to control the role of foreign forces present on Iraqi soil and controlling its skies." "Accordingly," the statement added, "the government must urgently expel these hostile forces country to avoid further wars in the region and prevent the bloodshed of its people." Newsweek has reached out to the Nujaba Movement for comment. Hamas fighters gather at the site of the handing over of Israeli hostages at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner release on February 22. Hamas fighters gather at the site of the handing over of Israeli hostages at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner release on February 22. SAEED JARAS/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images Hamas Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, issued a statement of "solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the face of the brutal Zionist aggression" in a statement issued Friday. The group attributed the Israeli attacks to "Iran's stance alongside the Palestinian people and its substantial support for their honorable resistance," and argued that the Axis of Resistance would remain intact despite the sweeping Israeli strikes. "The Zionist enemy is utterly deluded if it believes these treacherous strikes can weaken the resistance fronts or stabilize this fragile entity in the region," the Al-Qassem Brigades said. "On the contrary, it continues to make successive strategic mistakes that will only hasten its inevitable demise, by God's will." Newsweek has reached out to Hamas for comment. As the leading frontline force in the fight initiated by the group in 2023, Hamas has suffered the brunt of casualties inflicted by Israel. Still, Israeli officials say the group retains a degree of operational capacity, allowing it to continue conducting attacks against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), often in coordination with other Palestinian factions in Gaza. But as talks backed by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar drag on in Gaza, the U.S. and Israel have asserted that Hamas would need to be removed from power as a prerequisite for any post-war solution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also repeatedly stated the conflict would not end until Hamas was destroyed as a functioning military and political entity. With the group's future thrown into even greater uncertainty as a result of the Israeli strikes across Iran, Hamas appealed for a united front in a separate statement issued by its media office on Friday. "The Zionist aggression against Iran marks a dangerous escalation, confirms the existential nature of struggle against the Ummah's central enemy, and demands a unified stance to deter the Zionist occupation and end its crimes," Hamas said.
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Workers, dancers and pagans: Thursday's photos of the day
A funeral is held for two people who were killed by a US airstrike on two houses in the north-west of the city Photograph: Mohammed Hamoud/Anadolu/Getty Images Members of the May 1st Collective march against a meeting of the far-right National Rally party on International Workers' Day Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images Tourists dressed in Hanfu visit the Summer Palace Photograph: Jessica Lee/EPA A burned-out garden centre in a village among hills west of Jerusalem, where emergency services have been battling wildfires for a second day. Police have reported the reopening of several major roads that had been closed Photograph: John Wessels/AFP/Getty Images A cat is spared the loud noises at Pet Expo Thailand with specially designed ear defenders Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA Visitors take in the view at Tsim Sha Tsui during the May Day holiday Photograph: Bertha Wang/AP Members and supporters of Russian Communist party carry a portrait of Joseph Stalin as they take part in May Day celebrations near the Karl Marx monument. International Workers' Day is an annual holiday that celebrates workers, their rights, achievements and contributions to society Photograph: Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA Union members rallying on May Day Photograph: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters A woman working at a brick kiln Photograph: Pervez Masih/AP A man rides his motorbike through the shadows Photograph: Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images Protesters raise their fists during a May Day rally Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images Protesters shout slogans from a bus after being detained by Turkish police. Officers detained dozens of people who were trying to tear down barricades to reach Taksim Square, where authorities had forbidden 1 May rallies Photograph: Kemal Aslan/AFP/Getty Images Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli strike that killed at least five members of the Abu Sahloul family Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP An environmental protester is carried out of a building hosting the Drax annual general meeting in the City of London Photograph: Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock Swimmers using the suspended Sky Pool in Nine Elms on a sunny day Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP Beltane celebrations, marking the beginning of summer, at Glastonbury Chalice Well Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA Store manager Matt Gould celebrates a customer arriving at the opening of the new Ikea store by Oxford Circus Photograph: Andy Hall/The Observer The Wessex Morris Men greet sunrise at the Trendle, an ancient earth-banked enclosure on the hill above the Cerne Abbas Giant hill figure Photograph:
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What the New Houthi Terrorist Designation Means for Yemen
Yemen's Houthi loyal fighters shout slogans as they participate in an armed-tribal gathering against Israel and its main allies the US and UK on December 23, 2024, in the suburb of Sana'a, Yemen. Credit - Mohammed Hamoud—Getty Images When the U.S. returned Yemen's Houthi movement to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations on Mar. 4, the decision not only reversed the Biden Administration policy—it also reignited debates over U.S. strategy in Yemen's decade-long civil war and its humanitarian fallout. The Houthis have attacked Red Sea shipping and launched missiles toward both Israel and Saudi Arabia. But critics argue the terrorist designation—which carries penalties for doing business with the faction—could exacerbate an already dire situation where millions of civilians rely on aid to survive.'The United States will not tolerate any country engaging with terrorist organizations like the Houthis in the name of practicing legitimate international business,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the statement announcing the designation. Iran supplies the Houthis with drones, missiles, and training, enabling the group to target Saudi cities, Israel, and international shipping lanes. With Hezbollah and Hamas diminished, and the Bashar regime no longer controlling Syria, the Yemeni militia has grown more prominent in Iran's 'axis of resistance.' Both the U.S. and Israel have launched bombing raids on the Houthis, including an October by B-2 stealth bombers on underground weapons caches. But restoring the 'terrorist' designation may only have a tangential impact on the Houthis, says Nader Hashemi, associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown University. 'The sanctions that go with it don't really weaken these countries,' he says. 'They're mostly, I think, grandstanding and an opportunity for, in this case, the Trump administration to try and distinguish himself from Biden and to present himself as really standing for himself against America's enemies.' Other experts agreed the move is more about domestic political posturing than achieving change on the ground. Some said it may actually heighten the threat to shipping. 'If the Houthis continue to engage with these types of shipping attacks, now that there's a terrorist designation it sort of contributes to greater tensions in the Middle East but doesn't help the situation,' Hashemi says. 'In that sense, there could be greater economic cost if ships travelling through the Red Sea are fired to choose different routes or if there are now greater insurance rates that have to be charged because of the threat of the attack. The consumers would have to pay the price for that added expense if businesses are charging more to send their ships through the Middle East.' 'When they're pressurized, [the Houthis] generally responds militarily,' says April Longley Alley, Senior Expert for the Gulf and Yemen at United States Institute of Peace. 'They've been threatening for a while to retaliate, either inside of Yemen or outside.' The Zaydi Shia Islamic religious ideology of the Houthis allows for recasting violence as resistance. The group's founder, Hussein al-Houthi, framed the movement as a revival of Zaydi identity against perceived marginalization by Yemen's Sunni-majority governments and growing Salafi-Wahhabi influences. 'It's a hodgepodge of sorts,' says Bader Mousa Al-Saif, assistant professor of history at Kuwait University and a fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. 'It's messianic, it's eclectic, it gives full subservience to the descendants of the Prophet.' Under the current leadership of Hussein's brother, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group has weaponized this ideology, portraying its fight as a divine struggle against foreign 'occupiers' and neighbors, notably Saudi Arabia. 'These [radical ideologies] are the things that motivate action and motivate violence,' Al-Saif stresses. 'Policymakers are treating symptoms, they're not treating the origins of the issue. If you go out and you try to block ships or you try to safeguard ships, you're not dealing with the issue on the ground. [The Houthis] are on the ground in Yemen. They've been trying to close up on their own population. They're not allowing people to express themselves… so we need to listen to Yemeni civilians.' Yemen has a long history of political division—for much of the 20th Century it was two countries, North Yemen and South Yemen. The current war dates from divisions that surfaced during the Arab Spring that were encouraged by other nations, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which involved their own militaries. Those rivalries have hamstrung UN-led efforts at political settlements, and the Houthis have detained dozens of UN staff since 2021. The UN notably suspended operations in the Houthi-controlled Saada region after 8 more staff members were forcibly detained. In February, the U.N. World Food Programme announced that one of their aid staff died while in detention in Houthi-controlled northern Yemen. 'So many Yemeni staff have been kidnapped, tortured, for no reason but their alliance with the United States. And there's something really sinister about that,' says Fatima Abo Alasrar, senior policy analyst for the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies. 'It is a movement that stands as a threat to other religions, to other countries, and to the United States primarily.' An estimated 19.5 million people now need humanitarian assistance and protection services – 1.3 million more people than last year. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and among the worst humanitarian crises in the world. In 2024, USAID provided Yemen with roughly $620 million in total aid. Trump has since shuttered the agency. And though Secretary Rubio issued a waiver for life-saving humanitarian aid, aid groups in Yemen claim operations remain suspended. Advocates warn that being listed as a terrorist state by the U.S. may stifle humanitarian aid from other sources, which 80 percent of the population are critically in need of. 'Innocent people are going to suffer,' says Hashemi. 'Any humanitarian organization that wants to pursue exporter contracts or engage in bank transfers in order to facilitate aid will now be blocked because of this terrorist designation.' A report from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, which went to war against the Houthis, has stated that 'returning the Houthis to the terror list will not impede critical aid flows.' It cites a 2022 document from the Houthi's previous designation to highlight ways to authorize humanitarian aid relief, such as licenses and good faith exceptions. Experts say the reality is less clear. 'While there have been measures put into place to prevent the worst impacts on the humanitarian space, it really depends on how the private sector and the national banking system interprets the cut-outs that are there,' says Alley, noting that the private sector in Yemen is strikingly fragile. General licenses make it so that transactions are authorized that otherwise would not be. They act as a safeguard intended to balance U.S. counterterrorism goals with the urgent need to prevent famine and protect the livelihoods of millions of Yemenis. 'The real risk to the Yemeni economy and to Yemeni livelihood is this issue of over-compliance,' Alley says. Some parties may avoid Yemen altogether out of fear of running afoul of the U.S. Treasury Department, which enforces the sanction. 'This has a knock-down effect throughout the country, so we have to see how it plays out.' 'We shouldn't limit ourselves to such an option,' Al-Saif says. 'We should have an integrated toolkit that looks at different aspects without having the average Yemeni impacted.' Contact us at letters@
