
• Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile."
• New video shows the true extent of the fighting.
• Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country, and that their jet survived.
• An expert told Business Insider that it's unlikely a fighter jet could survive such a massive fireball.

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday that one of its fighter aircraft was "intercepted" by a "hostile air defense missile," and now video has emerged showing the true extent of the fighting.

Saudi Arabia said the missile used was not originally of Yemeni origin, and proves that Iran has been arming the country.

Experts who analyzed the film, released by Houthi rebels, said it showed a R-27T, or a Soviet-era missile usually found "hanging under the wing of a Russian-built aircraft," Justin Bronk, an air combat expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider.

The missile, with a heat-seeking sensor and a solid range of about 70 kilometers when fired from the air, is seen in the video bursting upwards and eventually erupting in a fireball.

The Saudis maintain the missile did not down the jet, which they claim returned back to base. The Houthis claim they downed the jet.

Saudi fighter jets likely have decoys and defensive measures on board, but according to Bronk, "I would be reasonably surprised if a fast jet could emit that amount of fire on impact and get home."

No matter the outcome, the fact that Houthi rebels in Yemen have demonstrated their ability to rig a Russian fighter jet missile to fire at Saudi jets from the ground shows they've advanced and increased their warfighting abilities.</s>The State Department on Thursday announced the sale of 6,700 anti-tank missiles to Saudi Arabia, hours after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to discuss the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen.

The State Department said it had notified Congress of the proposed sale, part of a $1 billion defense deal that also includes parts and maintenance support for Saudi tanks and helicopters.

The main contractor for the missiles is Tucson, Arizona-based Raytheon.

“This proposed sale will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by improving the security of a friendly country which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East,” the State Department said, adding that the deal “will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The deal comes almost three years to the day that Saudi Arabia, supported by the U.S., began a campaign of airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Rights group Amnesty International said Friday that arms deals were “irresponsible” because all parties to the conflict had “repeatedly violated international law.”

“There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians,” it said in a statement, “But this has not deterred the USA, the U.K. and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars’ worth of such arms. As well as devastating civilian lives, this makes a mockery of the global Arms Trade Treaty.”</s>All oil and gas facilities, plants, and refineries in Saudi Arabia are operating normally, the state oil giant Saudi Aramco said on Thursday, after the Yemeni Houthi movement said earlier today that it had fired a ballistic missile targeting Aramco in the southern Saudi province of Najran.

According to a news agency controlled by the Houthi rebels, they fired a short-range ballistic missile aimed at Saudi Aramco in Najran. The report by the rebel website didn’t offer details about the installation they were targeting.

According to Aramco’s website, the Saudi oil giant has a loading facility in Najran, which is close to the border with Yemen.

Aramco didn’t mention the report of the missile in the statement in which it said that all its facilities in Saudi Arabia are safe, Bloomberg notes.

The Houthi Shiite rebel group is aligned with Iran and is fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. In February 2015, the Houthi rebels forced President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s neighbor to the north.

Since March 2015, the Houthi rebels and loyalists to Hadi have been fighting a civil war in Yemen and forces in the Saudi-led Arab coalition are trying to restore Hadi to power.

Houthi rebels have fired or claimed to have fired many missiles on Saudi Arabia since then, but they have caused little damage, and many of those missiles have been intercepted by the Saudi military.

At the end of last year, the Houthis threatened that they would start attacking oil tankers and warships sailing under enemy flag if the Gulf coalition fighting it in the country does not reopen its ports.

Yemen lies along one of the main global oil chokepoints in the Red Sea. Millions of barrels of crude oil pass Yemeni shores from the Suez Canal en route to Europe every day.</s>What the U.S. will also bring up

It's a three-week tour that any presidential candidate or celebrity would be jealous of -- one worthy of a newly minted crown prince, you might say, as he introduces himself to his most important ally.But between the halls of Harvard University and the hills of Hollywood, Mohammed bin Salman -- the 32-year old heir to the Saudi throne who's made waves with his aggressive campaigns against his country's elites and its neighbor and enemy Iran -- must navigate tricky political factions in President Donald Trump's Washington, split U.S. public opinion on his country's image and criticism of his record, especially the war in Yemen he's led as defense minister.The crown prince, known by his initials "MBS," is making his first trip to the U.S. after his power-grabbing move last June to become first in line for the throne and the de facto ruler of the country. Since then, he's begun a controversial reform campaign at home and a messy, assertive foreign policy abroad, with that devastating war in Yemen, but also a nasty split with U.S. ally Qatar, a failed plot in Lebanon and a tighter bond with the Trump administration.His high-profile visit includes meetings with American luminaries like Bill Gates, Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos; dinners with American leaders in Washington and Hollywood; and a campaign to bring U.S. investment to Saudi Arabia . But it'll also be an introduction for a young leader who will likely be in charge for decades to come -- as much a learning experience for him, as it is a PR campaign to remake his kingdom's image.MBS started in Washington Monday, landing ahead of his big meetings at the White House on Tuesday, including with Trump. While he's in D.C., he's expected to attend three dinners hosted by senior Trump administration officials -- Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and Trump son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to a source close to the Saudis.He's also expected to meet with leaders in Congress and Cabinet officials like Defense Secretary James Mattis and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, as well as Mike Pompeo, CIA director and Trump's new pick to be secretary of state, and John Sullivan, the deputy secretary of state who is in charge at the department now. Rex Tillerson, who is still currently secretary of state, will not meet MBS; he was not well-liked by the Saudis, who saw him as too favorable to rival Qatar.After a week in Washington, MBS heads to Boston on Saturday, according to the Saudi Embassy, where he has events at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The weekend in Boston is followed by a week in New York City, starting next Monday. There, he will meet with top executives and Wall Street chiefs, including at a Saudi-U.S. CEO forum and a dinner hosted by philanthropist and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He will also visit the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.From there, he flies to the West Coast on March 30, landing first in Seattle, where he'll meet Bezos and Gates. Cook of Apple and the top leaders at Google and Uber will host him in San Francisco, before Los Angeles' high-profile producers and executives receive him for meetings on entertainment in the kingdom -- after he recently ordered the reopening of movie theaters in socially conservative Saudi Arabia.He finishes his trip at the end of the first week of April in Houston, where the Saudi state-run oil company Aramco and its affiliate Motiva have their U.S. headquarters.This visit is not really about Washington, but all those other cities afterward, one source close the Saudis told ABC News. He and his full delegation wanted to tour the country to introduce the crown prince to the U.S. and gin up American business interest in Saudi Arabia beyond oil -- the goal of MBS's "Saudi Vision 2030" campaign that is pushing to make the country's economy less dependent on oil. That's what brings him to the door of leaders like Cook, Bloomberg and Bezos.But he will also be seeking support for his reform agenda at home, including not just new movie theaters, but also more rights for women and a purge of the ruling elites.Since coming to power, the 32-year-old has pushed to grant more rights to women in the traditionally conservative kingdom, where they still need permission from a male "guardian" to get a passport and travel abroad, undergo some medical procedures, and other activities."We are all human beings, and there is no difference," MBS told CBS's "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday, saying "absolutely" men and women are equal. He's ordered that women be allowed to drive by this June, opened up many concerts and other public events to be co-ed, and stripped religious police who often harassed women for how they dressed in public of the power to arrest people.The young crown prince also grabbed headlines for his rounding up more than 300 Saudi princes and elites in November, holding them under house arrest at the Ritz Carlton in the capital Riyadh. The detentions included some high-profile figures and former advisers, sending a message that no one was immune to this new campaign against corruption.But there have been reports of beatings and even one death at the hands of state security forces. MBS defended the steps as "extremely necessary" and "in accordance with existing and published laws" to CBS.Forcing those changes is not without controversy at home, but so far, there has been little to no public opposition, with no one willing to stand up to the young leader. Many, instead, see it as necessary change -- that only an autocrat could accomplish."The country needs a guy who intimidates people, who is bold and brazen. It needs a strongman to do what democracy cannot," said Ali Shihabi, author and founder of the Arabia Foundation, a Washington-based think tank with ties to Riyadh."He is the 'great white hope' for Saudi Arabia," he added, defending the harsh tactics as necessary to override any conservative backlash.The other critical issue for MBS is pushing back on Iranian influence in the region -- something the Trump administration is equally concerned about and interested in discussing. Saudi Arabia has been engaged in something of a cold war with its rival Iran, with both sides competing for influence in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.Trump has sided with Saudi Arabia, putting Iran "on notice" for its "malign" activity and saying he will tear up nuclear deal with the country unless European partners reach a new side agreement with the U.S. that tackles the deal's "flaws." Saudi Arabia has long opposed the agreement, and MBS said recently his country will pursue nuclear weapons if Iran is able to build one -- raising fears of a nuclear arms race in the already unstable Middle East.Trump will ask MBS to lay out his security concerns with the agreement, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the visit and who said Trump had not yet made a decision on the deal. The Saudis and other allies in the region did not have a "relevant" enough voice in the negotiations under the Obama administration, the Trump official added.While they support his fight against Iran generally, the Trump administration will also seek to curtail some of MBS's aggressive foreign policy moves after a handful of mistakes in the region. In Lebanon, for example, MBS detained Prime Minister Saad Hariri and pressured him to stand up to Iranian-supported Hezbollah before the U.S. and France urged him to allow Hariri to return.In particular, Trump is interested in ending the dispute between the Saudis, the United Arab Emirates and other Arab allies against Qatar, the tiny gas-rich nation on the Gulf that is accused of financing terrorism and having closer ties to Iran, according to the senior administration official.Last May, the Saudi-led group began a blockade of Qatar meant to cripple it into meeting a list of demands. Nearly one year later, the country has withstood that pressure, but the ongoing dispute has hampered the U.S. military and its efforts against ISIS, according to U.S. officials. There is a major American base in Qatar, where over 10,000 troops are stationed.While Trump wants to host a summit between the Gulf countries, it is increasingly unlikely to happen because there is "no appetite" among the Saudis or Emiratis, who believe Qatar will soon cave, a source told ABC News.The other big issue will be Yemen, where MBS has led a military campaign since 2015 to crush the Houthi rebels who've been fighting a civil war against the local government. While the Saudis say the Houthis, armed by Iran, pose a threat to their security, their air campaign has also attracted allegations of indiscriminate targeting and their blockade has been derided as one of the causes of a devastating famine and cholera outbreak, with millions facing hunger and disease.The Saudis have begun to reopen ports and allow for humanitarian aid to flow in by sea and land routes, but human rights groups continue to criticize their actions: "Crown princes should not escape accountability," Human Rights Watch's Kristine Beckerle said in a blog post Sunday.The war in Yemen has spurred plans for protests against MBS throughout his trip, including four days of protests in Washington by the anti-war group CODEPINK and a rally in Boston by student groups at Harvard and MIT.It could also lead to censure by Congress while MBS is in Washington. The Senate may vote on a resolution introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., to "direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities" in Yemen. The U.S. currently provides mid-air refueling and targeting assistance for Saudi and Emirati aircraft in Yemen, as well as some intelligence and reconnaissance.It's unclear if congressional leadership will bring the resolution up for a vote. In recent weeks, the Trump administration has praised the Saudi government for opening up the port Hodeida and setting up four cranes to bring aid into the country.</s>DUBAI, March 23 (Reuters) - Amnesty International on Friday denounced Western arms sales to Saudi Arabia and its allies in a coalition battling the Houthis in Yemen, saying such traffic made a "mockery" of a global arms trade treaty.

The rights group accused both the Saudi-led coalition forces and the Iran-allied Houthis of committing potential war crimes in the three-year conflict.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since March 2015 when Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim Arab states launched a military campaign against the Houthis, a group of Shi'ite fighters who had seized the capital and forced President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi to flee.

"There is extensive evidence that irresponsible arms flows to the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have resulted in enormous harm to Yemeni civilians," Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"But this has not deterred the USA, the UK and other states, including France, Spain and Italy, from continuing transfers of billions of dollars' worth of such arms. As well as devastating civilian lives, this makes a mockery of the global Arms Trade Treaty."

The organisation said it had documented 36 coalition air strikes since 2015 that appeared to have violated international law, adding that some may amount to war crimes. The documented attacks had killed 513 civilians, including at least 157 children, and wounded 379 others, according to Amnesty.

It said the Houthis and their allies had conducted arbitrary arrests and detentions of opponents, and that scores of men and women had been subjected to enforced disappearances and harsh sentences following unfair trails.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have repeatedly denied allegations of war crimes and say their campaign is directed against Houthi fighters, and not civilians. The Houthi movement has also denied accusations of war crimes.

Amnesty said that as the conflict enters its fourth year it shows no real signs of abating and that all sides were impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid to at least 22.2 million people in need of assistance and more than one million suffering from suspected cases of cholera.

The rights group said that despite the loosening of a blockade on Yemeni ports imposed by the Saudi-led coalition, it continues to impose restrictions on aid and commercial imports of essential goods.

Two rights groups in France said on Friday they would take legal action against the French government unless it halts sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia and its ally the United Arab Emirates within two months.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Yemen conflict with President Donald Trump this week during a visit to the United States.

U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis told Prince Mohammed on Thursday that there was an urgent need to end the war. (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Peter Graff)</s>SANAA, Yemen — Two Yemeni government ministers announced their resignations on Wednesday in a gesture of protest, claiming that Saudi Arabia has for months now prevented Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi from returning home.

The kingdom, which backs Hadi’s internationally recognized government, has been waging war against Yemen’s Shiite rebels known as Houthis since March 2015.

Hadi fled Yemen amid the Houthi advances and has been in self-imposed exile in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, along with most members of his government, though some government officials are based in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden — far from the capital, Sanaa, and the northern regions controlled by the rebels.

Minister of State Salah el-Sayadi announced his resignation in a statement Wednesday, a day after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service and Insurance Abdulaziz el-Jabari said in televised comments that he was stepping down.

El-Jabari said he handed in his resignation on Monday to Hadi in Riyadh and though he said Hadi is not held in Saudi Arabia, the president cannot return home to Aden.

El-Sayadi is in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Yemeni government officials said. He was forced to leave Aden by pro-United Arab Emirates’ forces after he allegedly called on residents earlier this month to stage protest so that Hadi would return to the country.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, from Hadi or other government officials.

In November, Yemeni officials told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia had been barring Hadi, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home.

At the time, the officials said the ban was prompted by the bitter enmity between Hadi and the UAE, which has come to dominate Aden and parts of southern Yemen that are not under rebel control.

The Gulf nation has trained, financed and armed militias in Yemen that answer to the UAE forces, creating a parallel security establishment. An AP investigation last summer documented 18 secret prisons run by the UAE or its allies, where former prisoners said torture was widespread. The UAE denied the allegations and says all security forces are under Hadi’s authority.</s>Featuring fine dining and luxury facilities, this is the luxury hotel where hundreds of people accused of corruption spent weeks at a time. However, Saudi Arabia’s Ritz-Carlton could also hold...

Saudi women take the wheel, test-driving a new freedom JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Fatima Salem giggles with hesitation when it’s her turn to drive through a small parking lot lined with bright orange cones and arrows. Like millions of...

In a scene straight out of “Footloose,” Saudi officials have banned dancing at an upcoming concert. Not only will the men and women attending the event be required to wear...

Saudi Arabia hosted its first-ever race for women on Saturday as the Middle Eastern country slowly expands the rights of its female citizens. More than 1,500 women took part in...

Jay Penske said to get $200M investment from Saudi fund Jay Penske has sold a minority stake of his media company, Penske Media Corp., to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, The Post has learned. The fund has invested “over $200...

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A palatial pad once owned by a powerful Saudi prince has finally sold — for more than half off its original $75 million asking price. Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A criminal court in Saudi Arabia sentenced a columnist to five years in prison for insulting the royal court, the official body that represents the...

An immigrant from Saudi Arabia suspected of applying to join an al-Qaeda training camp has been arrested on a visa fraud charge in Oklahoma, according to a report. The FBI...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A wide-reaching anti-corruption campaign shrouded in secrecy and intrigue has netted more than $106 billion in financial settlements with 56 people remaining in custody, Saudi...</s>SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Two Yemeni government ministers announced their resignations on Wednesday in a gesture of protest, claiming that Saudi Arabia has for months now prevented Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi from returning home.

The kingdom, which backs Hadi's internationally recognized government, has been waging war against Yemen's Shiite rebels known as Houthis since March 2015.

Hadi fled Yemen amid the Houthi advances and has been in self-imposed exile in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, along with most members of his government, though some government officials are based in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden — far from the capital, Sanaa, and the northern regions controlled by the rebels.

Minister of State Salah el-Sayadi announced his resignation in a statement Wednesday, a day after Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Civil Service and Insurance Abdulaziz el-Jabari said in televised comments that he was stepping down.

El-Jabari said he handed in his resignation on Monday to Hadi in Riyadh and though he said Hadi is not held in Saudi Arabia, the president cannot return home to Aden.

El-Sayadi is in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, Yemeni government officials said. He was forced to leave Aden by pro-United Arab Emirates' forces after he allegedly called on residents earlier this month to stage protest so that Hadi would return to the country.

The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia, from Hadi or other government officials.

In November, Yemeni officials told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia had been barring Hadi, along with his sons, ministers and military officials, from returning home.

At the time, the officials said the ban was prompted by the bitter enmity between Hadi and the UAE, which has come to dominate Aden and parts of southern Yemen that are not under rebel control.

The Gulf nation has trained, financed and armed militias in Yemen that answer to the UAE forces, creating a parallel security establishment. An AP investigation last summer documented 18 secret prisons run by the UAE or its allies, where former prisoners said torture was widespread. The UAE denied the allegations and says all security forces are under Hadi's authority.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>The onset of March is a pleasant time in Riyadh, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s impressive capital. The long, cool desert nights give way to temperate sunrises. One can easily misconstrue this to be any sprawling American megalopolis basking in the luminosity of iridescent lights from the window seat of an airplane. The cars beneath look like lightened ants synchronized in a direction. But all this heralds for the arrival of long, tortuous summer when things start to fester.

However, the recent turn and pace of events in Saudi Arabia have been indifferent to the arrays of the weather, rather, these have continued to simmer with excitement and uncertainty at the internal and external fronts. Internally, the Kingdom’s heir apparent has strengthened his position with alacrity launching his vision for the new Saudi Arabia through his flagship Vision 2030, rolling out ambitious reforms to the oil dominated economy which has come under tremendous strains due to the plummeting oil prices and an excessive reliance on foreign reserves. The announcement of the creation of NEOM is but an important component of weaning away the Kingdom from an Oil dependent economy. Prince Salman plans to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy and position it as a hub of manufacturing, commerce and the region’s chief trading outpost.

A ruthless but well intentioned crackdown on reckless pilferages to the Kingdom’s coffers by influential royals and businessmen may have met all three of Prince Salman’s purposes; in order of importance: i) consolidating his power base and removing any challenge to his ascension as the future King of Saudi Arabia. ii) Recovering money on the pretext of corruption to add to the state’s coffers and meeting fiscal challenges iii) promoting an image of a clean young man trying to connect with the country’s large, unemployed youth bulge who are some of the most active users of social media anywhere in the Arab world, disaffected and subscribing to militant ideologies including joining the ranks of outfits such as ISIS and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Prince Salman’s last presumed attempt might also be an interconnected endeavor at some of his other sweeping social changes such as granting women the right to drive, commencing business’, admittance to sporting activities, celebrations and carnivals. The opening of cinemas and screening of movies that shall allow for mixed audiences and seating is another important highlight of his social reform programme. The raging, carefully crafted propaganda against the Kingdom and its ruling elite aside, such changes must be welcomed. In a globalized age of information when borders are increasingly becoming irrelevant, holding on to old dogmas has long adversely affected the Saudi social fabric and its image to the outside world. One might urge caution at the rapidity of which these reforms are carried out; however, these are desirable. These reforms will also echo in Iran where headscarves are already coming off in an act of defiance and a demand for greater female emancipation will gain momentum, if only subtly at this stage.

Externally, not all is so quite on the Kingdom’s Western front, to twist the legendary novelist Erich Maria Remarque’s masterpiece’s title. Saudi Arabia’s increasing mutual hostility with Iran has placed the entire Middle East on a precipice. One must be mindful of that the region’s precarious stability is anchored in a fragile cohesion in all of its fatal fault lines. The lines cut across the region’s Sunni, Shia; Sub-Sects, Baathist Socialism, Arab Nationalism, Non State Actors and Israel. The Arab Spring and winter being the latest components to these layers. Much of the present turmoil between the region’s two powers, Iran and Saudi Arabia is a result of the ill-conceived, dubious Iraq War. It is unimaginable how the US could go to war against Saddam and remove a buffer to Iranian expansionist designs in the wider Middle East. In doing so, the US effectively gifted the Iranians an opportunity to vastly expand their influence in its immediate neighborhood and beyond. Iraq is now virtually an Iranian vassal state. This has emboldened Tehran to further spread its power in Syria. Lebanon, Yemen and other states. Saudi vulnerability to the battle hardened Iranians stems not just from a weaker economy, an inexperienced army, a costly stalemate in Yemen and regular missile incursions by the Houthis into Saudi territory but also ceding space in Syria, Lebanon and other allied countries.

From this vantage point, it makes sense for Saudi Arabia’s courting of Egypt and Pakistan. Two countries that are important to Saudi strategic and regional ambitions. While Egypt under President Sisi is an allied ally of the Kingdom, nuclear Pakistan’s recent ambivalent policies towards the Middle East and Yemen in particular have been viewed unfavorably by Riyadh and in Abu Dhabi too. Pakistan’s foreign policy paralysis is a result of the country’s volatile politics and its continuing civil-military decision making crisis. Sadly, much of the narrative about Saudi Arabia in Pakistan is increasingly becoming completely ill-informed a revolving around clichés such as Wahhabist ideology, women driving, lashes and public whipping. It is oblivious to the mutually beneficial alliance that has sustained Pakistan at some of its most crucial times in its history. The Saudi Pakistani partnership has not just been about aid and security but cooperation on intelligence, military assistance, economic welfare and bringing political stability to Pakistan. Pakistan’s ill-thought refusal to send troops to Saudi Arabia and offer decisive support during an illegitimate campaign by the Houthi militia in Yemen neither won it any space in Iran nor was reciprocated if it was intended to do so. Instead, Pakistan has helplessly watched as its firm bedrock of alliances in the GCC have vacillated, regrettably, publically too. Along with Saudi Arabia, we have lost great diplomatic capital in the UAE which has emerged as a leading power base in the GCC and the wider Middle East. Exchanges of high level visits between India and the UAE hopefully will not be a precursor to deepening cooperation. Oman’s decision to lease a key port to India and Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow Air India overflight rights to Israel through Saudi Airspace are important Indian forays into the GCC. Strangely enough, our media narrative filtering to an ill-informed public opinion is miffed at Saudi refusal to support Pakistan at the FATF meeting in Paris while ignoring similar Saudi sentiments on Pakistan’s refusal to aid Saudi Arabia over Yemen, Syria and now Qatar.

Neither have our actions and reactions helped consolidate relations with Iran. The nabbing of an Indian spy/terrorist Kulbhushan Yadav, Iran’s decision to lease the Chabahar port to India, the Iranian army chief’s public pronouncement of crossing into Pakistan territory, shooting down of the Iranian drone inside Pakistan, Iranian silence over gross human rights violations in Indian Held Kashmir and President Rouhani’s successful visit to India should serve important reminders on the complete failure of our Middle East policy and add a new discourse to the standard Saudi narrative in Pakistan but that seems unlikely.

Alex Vatanka’s brilliant book on Iran-Pakistan relations is a lucid account on how ties between these two neighbors have frayed in recent years. Iran’s proximity and traditional goodwill for India in its ruling clique from the time of the Shah, its ambitions in Afghanistan, the advancement of its Indian ties at political, economic and strategic levels, border issues with Pakistan, the JCPOA agreement, discriminatory trading practices, tariffs on Pakistani goods and host of other issues will only further affray ties between the two countries. For those arguing in favour of forging closer bonds with Tehran, the fundamental question we must ask ourselves is how forthcoming is Iran towards drawing close to Pakistan? Pakistan must also make decisive steps towards building a cohesive identity that must give it the confidence to take intrepid foreign policy discourses rather than remaining stymied by sensitivities of Shia’s towards Iran and Sunni’s towards the Gulf. A Pakistani’s interests and that of his nation’s actions abroad must echo the sentiments of the motherland nor should guidance be sought from foreign lands. This is detrimental to a nation’s social fabric. Afghanistan warring sects and those in Lebanon are an example. Vatanka’s thesis of an internationally isolated Iran which has little to offer Pakistan in terms of monetary and tangible assistance was a chief reason why Pakistan was cultivated mutually by the Gulf and vice versa. The millions of Pakistani overseas workers and their remittances are also a key financial configuration that an economically weak Pakistan is rightly sensitive about. In a Trump presidency, when Israel has unqualified access to the White House, the optimism of an integrated Iran, characterized by the Obama years, is likely to fade further.

Therefore, Pakistan’s decision to send troops to Saudi Arabia is a decision that has been taken a bit too late. It has missed opportunities of fortifying its traditional power base in the GCC and Middle East. The troops should have been sent earlier. The alarming challenges to Pakistan require us to be bold, imaginative and on the offensive. A cue can be taken from the diplomatic notebook of the UAE’s dynamic Ambassador to the US, Yousef Al Oteiba. Clarity of thinking must be translated into collective policy making for the country to be effectively responsive to increased US pressure, Pakistan’s fragile economy recovery, the war in Afghanistan and an increasingly hostile India. We cannot hope to keep vital issues such as Kashmir alive, gain entry into the NSG, ensuring economic, social development, cohesion and safeguard our diplomatic and territorial borders by excessively relying and taxing friends such as China, Turkey and the GCC nor on the most useless narrative of countless sacrifices and recognition of these at the international fora. Let us strengthen existing relationships, repair worn ties and eschew differences for the country’s common good. On this score, we can and must do more.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Islamabad.</s>In terms of timing, Shakespeare said it best in : “There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries.” As America welcomes the young, dynamic and controversial Prince Muhammad Bin Salman Al Saud of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we should remember that he believes his destiny lies in reshaping not only the Saudi nation, but also the Arab world and the broader Middle East. And I would not bet against him.

During a trip hosted and paid for by the Foreign Ministry with the aims of discussing diplomatic education, I was invited to speak with the Crown Prince. Our meeting was held in his large office in the Royal Palace on March 12, at 11 p.m., as the Royal Court milled about outside.

In ten years as a very senior U.S. military officer and five years in my current role as the Dean of a graduate school of international relations, I have met most of the major world leaders. I would put Prince Muhammad near the top of the list in terms of energy, ambition and vision. His youth means a long, long time in power when he becomes King. But the challenges are immense, and the detractors — both inside the Kingdom and globally — are formidable.

His list of titles is long, much like the other global Prince of the moment, his friend Jared Kushner. In addition to being selected as the Crown Prince, he serves as First Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, and Minister of Defense — the world’s youngest holder of the latter office at the time of his appointment nearly two years ago. Each of these positions would be a full-time job for most people. For example, as Minister of Defense he manages the fourth-largest defense budget in the world, has Saudi troops in a significant regional war in Yemen, directs strikes against the Islamic State as part of the coalition led by the U.S. and recently fired much of the uniformed leadership. His duties in each of the other positions are equally significant.

His energy and enthusiasm for the task ahead of him was apparent. He held forth with precision and passion on the threat posed by Iran, the challenge of finishing the task of destroying the Islamic State, the positive state of relations with the United States, anti-corruption measures and the need to reform both the Saudi economy and improve the situation for women in the Kingdom. Surrounded by stacks of documents, folders, binders and various computers and other electronic devices, he was clearly looking forward to a long trip to the United States, which would encompass both coasts and multiple locations.

There is a particular need driving his deep personal engagement with current U.S. leadership and the lengthy visit to America. With a relatively small population relative to Iran and reliance on hydrocarbons for a reliable revenue stream, the Saudis need a powerful partner — and only the United States can provide the full range of security guarantees. For the Kingdom, a U.S. withdrawal from the Middle East puts in place a far more dangerous landscape. This should also inform a Saudi approach that eases U.S. concerns about the war in Yemen, the relationship with the Qataris, and cooperation with Israel.

The Crown Prince’s reputation is not without controversy, of course. Confining members of the Royal family in a Ritz-Carlton in a crackdown on corruption has created a significant human rights backlash, particularly after a damning story in the New York appeared. Likewise, the Saudi military campaign in Yemen has helped create a significant humanitarian crisis, and accusations of loose collateral damage standards in terms of the air campaign continue to crop up. The isolation of Qatar is contributing to a high degree of tension in the Gulf Cooperation Council, traditionally led by the Saudis. And his reforms on behalf of women, from permission to drive to allowing custody of children after a divorce, are stirring up trouble in traditional sectors of Saudi society.

There will be additional major challenges ahead. The ambitious plan to reinvent the Saudi economy and wean it from oil revenues will be difficult, even with an infusion of cash from the planned sale of part of Saudi Aramco. If the Prince cannot succeed in generating jobs for young Saudis, encourage technology transfer and sensible direct investment, manage the sovereign wealth in a way that protects the post-hydrocarbon future, tap the human capital of women, reduce radicalization, strangle corruption, maintain the support of the majority of young Saudis and continue to connect the Kingdom to the global grid, then his path will be vastly harder. He cannot succeed by force of personality alone, something he knows well — he must follow through on the coherent plan he has laid out, adjusting course as necessary as events force changes.

Relations with Israel will be tricky, despite the increasingly obvious need for the Saudis to work with Israel in opposing Iranian influence throughout the region (as the Egyptians and Jordanians have for decades). Creating a sense of unity among the fractious Arab states will be hard, and there are other leaders in the Arab world to challenge the young Prince. And above it all looms the long shadow of Iran, who see themselves as inheritors of the Persian Empire and are striking out across the region, seeking to gain influence both north and south of the Kingdom, using Shiite militias, Revolutionary Guards, traditional troops, and an alliance with Russia, Syria and increasingly NATO member Turkey. In addition to traditional Arab states (to include solving the situation with Qatar), the Prince needs a quietly cooperative Israel, European help in ensuring the Iranian economy doesn’t suddenly swing into high gear, U.S. influence both in the region and in Europe; possible cooperation with NATO (there is already a nascent level of such engagement) and direct investment from other parts of the world. The United States will be a central part of that coalition, and he will be a vital partner for our security efforts.

The Crown Prince is determined to seize this moment and sail on the flood tide. But he would do well to remember that the play from which that famous quotation comes tells the story of a leader who faces a brutal end. I’d say the odds of his success are better than even, but there are rough seas ahead.
Yemeni forces launch a missile attack on Aramco's HQ in Najran, Saudi Arabia.