Bin Daghr: ‘Decisive Storm’ Shattered Iran’s Expansionist Dreams

Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr (C) attends a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS
Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr (C) attends a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS
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Bin Daghr: ‘Decisive Storm’ Shattered Iran’s Expansionist Dreams

Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr (C) attends a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS
Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr (C) attends a news conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 18, 2016. REUTERS

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid Bin Daghr said that the Yemeni army, supported by the coalition forces, “currently controls 85 percent of the territories and heads towards achieving greater victory”, stressing that the “Decisive Storm”, led by Saudi Arabia, has thwarted Iran’s projects in the Arab region.

He also commended the great support provided to the Yemeni people by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

His comments came during his meeting in Aden with the Commander of the Arab Coalition Forces Brig. Gen. Ahmed Abu Majid, the Commander of the Saudi Forces Brigadier General Abdul Aziz Islam, the Commander of the Bahraini and Sudanese Forces Major Hisham Al-Mubarak, and a number of officers of the Arab Coalition Forces.

Bin Daghr praised major sacrifices offered by the Yemeni army and popular resistance to face Houthi and Ali Abdullah Saleh militias, promising that victory was imminent.

The Yemeni prime minister pointed out to the support provided by Saudi Arabia, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the UAE, under the leadership of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed and the leaders of the State of Kuwait for their support to the Yemeni people through the King Salman Relief Center, the UAE Red Crescent, the Kuwait Relief Committee and “all those who helped Yemen in these difficult circumstances”.

For his part, the commander of the Arab Coalition Forces reiterated UAE’s position in support of Yemen’s unity and stability, while the commander of the Saudi Forces confirmed the Kingdom’s backing of Yemen’s legitimacy and security.

The meeting tackled a number of important issues on the military and economic levels, and discussed the joint action to face Houthis and terrorist organizations and the means to consolidate security and stability in the liberated provinces.



Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
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Rights Defenders Denounce US Sanctions on UN Expert on Palestinians

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo
UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025. Ritzau Scanpix/Ida Marie Odgaard via REUTERS/File Photo

Human rights defenders rallied on Thursday to support the top UN expert on Palestinian rights, after the United States imposed sanctions on her over what it said was unfair criticism of Israel.

Italian lawyer Francesca Albanese serves as special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, one of dozens of experts appointed by the 47-member UN Human Rights Council to report on specific global issues.

She has long criticized Israeli treatment of the Palestinians, and this month published a report accusing over 60 companies, including some US firms, of supporting Israeli settlements in the West Bank and military actions in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday Albanese would be added to the US sanctions list for work which had prompted what he described as illegitimate prosecutions of Israelis at the International Criminal Court.

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Washington to reverse course.

"Even in the face of fierce disagreement, UN Member States should engage substantively and constructively, rather than resort to punitive measures," he said, Reuters reported.

Juerg Lauber, the Swiss permanent representative to the UN who now holds the rotating presidency of the Human Rights Council, said he regretted the sanctions, and called on states to "refrain from any acts of intimidation or reprisal" against the body's experts.

Mariana Katzarova, who serves as the special rapporteur for human rights in Russia, said her concern was that other countries would follow the US lead.

"This is totally unacceptable and opens the gates for any other government to do the same," she told Reuters. "It is an attack on UN system as a whole. Member states must stand up and denounce this."

Russia has rejected Katzarova's mandate and refused to let her enter the country, but it has so far stopped short of publicly adding her to a sanctions list.

Washington has already imposed sanctions against officials at the International Criminal Court, which has issued arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister for suspected war crimes in Gaza. Another court, the International Court of Justice, is hearing a case brought by South Africa that accuses Israel of genocide.

Israel denies that its forces have carried out war crimes or genocide against Palestinians in the war in Gaza, which was precipitated by an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023.

"The United States is working to dismantle the norms and institutions on which survivors of grave abuses rely," said Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.

The group's former head, Kenneth Roth, called the US sanctions an attempt "to deter prosecution of Israeli war crimes and genocide in Gaza".

The United States, once one of the most active members of the Human Rights Council, has disengaged from it under President Donald Trump, alleging an anti-Israel bias.