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Yemenis Barely Celebrate GPC’s 40th Anniversary

General People's Congress’s Sana’a wing holds a meeting after the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Reuters)
General People's Congress’s Sana’a wing holds a meeting after the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Reuters)
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Yemenis Barely Celebrate GPC’s 40th Anniversary

General People's Congress’s Sana’a wing holds a meeting after the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Reuters)
General People's Congress’s Sana’a wing holds a meeting after the killing of former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Reuters)

Yemenis home and abroad are faintly celebrating the 40th anniversary of the founding of the General People's Congress (GPC), one of the largest political parties in Yemen. The reason behind this is that the GPC has faced fragmentation over the years and lost its decision-making power to Houthi militias.

Marking the occasion on August 24, GPC leaders kept exchanging cables of congratulations.

Founded by the slain Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, the GPC was used as a political lever to rule the country for over three decades. This stopped at the death of Saleh on December 4, 2017, at the hands of the Houthi militia.

Many observers of Yemeni affairs believe that the party can still be a figure in shaping the country's future.

However, the GPC needs to first overcome internal divisions that have splintered the party into different wings vying for leadership.

According to Sanaa-based GPC sources, Houthi militias have barred GPC leaders from holding any form of celebration to mark the party’s 40th.

Despite banning the usual rallies, Houthis allowed GPC leaders to broadcast messages regarding the anniversary on Houthi-run media, sources revealed.

Moreover, the official statement issued by GPC leaders in Sana’a avoided mentioning Saleh and stressed that Sadiq Abu Ras is the legitimate head of the party.

Ras had previously affirmed his continued alliance with the Houthi militias.

GPC leaders in Taiz Governorate announced that they had withdrawn from holding a celebration on the occasion.

Meanwhile, some party leaders and activists contented themselves with holding a humble celebration in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The event was attended by one of Saleh's sons.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Yemeni journalist Abdullah al-Snami said that the GPC is going through its worst days since its foundation.

Snami admitted that the party hasn’t enjoyed the same influence after the death of Saleh in 2017.

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Arab World

Erdogan: War Must be Stopped 'Before it Engulfs Entire Region in Flames'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, March 9, 2026. Mustafa Kamaci/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, March 9, 2026. Mustafa Kamaci/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Erdogan: War Must be Stopped 'Before it Engulfs Entire Region in Flames'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, March 9, 2026. Mustafa Kamaci/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Türkiye, March 9, 2026. Mustafa Kamaci/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

The war raging in much of the Middle East must be stopped before it engulfs the entire region at increasing cost to the global economy, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday.

"This war must be stopped before it becomes bigger and completely engulfs the region in flames," he said, describing the Middle East as "once again enveloped in a smell of blood and gunpowder".

"If diplomacy is given a chance, this is entirely possible," he insisted, a day after Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi effectively ruled out negotiations with Washington, saying Tehran had had "a very bitter experience of talking with Americans".

The war, sparked by the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has caused death, displacement and destruction while roiling oil markets and leading to a spike in oil prices.

"If this senseless, lawless and irregular war continues, there will be more loss of life and property, and the cost to the global economy will increase even further," Erdogan added, saying Türkiye was pursuing efforts to find a diplomatic solution.

Since the war began, Tehran has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East.

Aside from two ballistic missile interceptions in Turkish airspace by NATO defense systems over the course of five days, Türkiye appears to have been spared.

Türkiye has no natural gas or fuel supply problems and currently does not foresee any, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said ⁠on Wednesday, despite worries ⁠about supply constraints pushing prices higher.

Arab World

Iran Military Says to Hit US, Israeli Economic Targets in Region

A photograph shows the damage in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph shows the damage in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Iran Military Says to Hit US, Israeli Economic Targets in Region

A photograph shows the damage in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A photograph shows the damage in the aftermath of a drone strike in the Seef district of Manama on March 10, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Iran's military vowed on Wednesday to launch strikes against US and Israeli economic targets in the region, including banks, after overnight attacks reportedly hit an Iranian bank.

"The enemy has given us free rein to target economic centers and banks belonging to the United States and the Zionist regime," said the military's central operational command, Khatam Al-Anbiya, in a statement carried by state TV.

It urged people across the region to refrain from going within one kilometer of banks.

Iranian media said US and Israeli strikes hit a bank in Tehran overnight, killing an unspecified number of employees.

Arab World

Report: Drone Hits US Diplomatic Facility in Iraq, No Injuries Reported

The US embassy headquarters in Iraq is pictured in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
The US embassy headquarters in Iraq is pictured in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
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Report: Drone Hits US Diplomatic Facility in Iraq, No Injuries Reported

The US embassy headquarters in Iraq is pictured in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on March 8, 2026. (AFP)
The US embassy headquarters in Iraq is pictured in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on March 8, 2026. (AFP)

A drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq on Tuesday amid the US-Israeli air war on Iran, but there were no injuries and everyone was accounted for, according to a US official and an internal State Department alert seen by Reuters.

The drone hit the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center, next to the Baghdad airport, impacting near a guard tower, the internal alert from the Department seen by Reuters said. Individuals at the facility were ordered to "duck and cover", it said. A separate alert said everyone was accounted for.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Washington Post ‌first reported the ‌incident and said a total of six drones were launched ‌toward ⁠the compound in ⁠Baghdad and that five were shot down. It also said the attack was likely carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions.

Iraq condemned the attacks near the Iraqi bases but did not mention the damaged US facility, according to the Washington Post.

"The (Iraqi) Ministry of Defense stresses that it will not stand by as a spectator. Rather, it will firmly confront and pursue ... all parties involved," ⁠the ministry said in a statement cited by the newspaper.

The US ‌and Israel began attacks on Iran on ‌February 28. Iran has responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf countries with US ‌bases.

Raising the stakes for the global economy, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said ‌it would block oil shipments from the Gulf unless US and Israeli attacks cease.

The United States and Israel pounded Iran on Tuesday with what the Pentagon and Iranians on the ground called the most intense airstrikes of the war, despite global markets betting that President Donald ‌Trump will seek to end the conflict soon.

Trump has said the strikes were aimed to eliminate what he called imminent threats from Iran, citing its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its support for the Hamas and Hezbollah groups.

Iran, which denies seeking a nuclear weapon, has called the attacks an unlawful violation of its sovereignty. Iran does not have nuclear weapons. Israel is believed to be the only country in the region with nuclear weapons, while Washington is also nuclear-armed.

Israel says 11 civilians have been killed in Iranian attacks. Iran's UN ambassador said on Tuesday the US-Israeli strikes had killed more than 1,300 civilians.