Middle East

Saleh Forced Out As Yemen Is Latest Country To Fall In Arab Spring Riots

From January 2011 he struggled to quell big popular protests against his rule as a spate of gunbattles pushed Yemen closer to civil war. The violence culminated in deadly clashes between forces of the Hashed tribal group and government troops. Under mounting pressure, Saleh agreed to sign a Gulf accord in November that was meant to see him gradually relinquish power.

Published

14 years ago

February 20, 2012

Geoffrey Grider

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SANAA (Reuters) – Ali Abdullah Saleh, who once compared his 33-year rule of Yemen to “dancing on the heads of snakes,” formally steps down this week after Yemenis anoint a new president in an election many hope will give Yemen a chance for democracy.

A boy looks through a hole in a banner, with an image of Yemen's outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, as he performs the weekly Friday prayers during a rally to show support for him in Sanaa January 27, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

No ceremonies are expected to mark the end for Saleh, who is out of the country being treated in the United States for injuries he sustained in an assassination attempt last June.

But the election, in which Saleh’s deputy Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is the only candidate, is expected to pave the way for Yemen to introduce political and economic reforms and give it a chance to restructure security forces currently run by the outgoing president’s relatives.

Before he flew to the United States last month, Saleh apologized for “any shortcoming” in his rule and said he planned to come back. “I will return to Sanaa as head of the General People’s Congress party,” he told senior party and government officials in a televised speech before his departure on January 22.

But fears remain that the accord, inked in Saudi Arabia, the world’s No. 1 oil exporter which shares a long porous border with Yemen, may not provide the impoverished Arabian Peninsula state with a roadmap out of misery and chaos.

The bombing of Saleh’s compound in June, an apparent assassination attempt, left Saleh with severe burns, forcing him to seek treatment in Saudi Arabia, one of Yemen’s resource-rich neighbors which had tried in vain to ease him from power.

Ever nimble, Saleh reneged on three deals to transfer power before the attempt on his life and shrugged off U.S. and Saudi pressure to stay in exile, making good on a promise to return home in September.

But international pressure redoubled in October, when the U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution demanding he sign a handover plan brokered by Gulf neighbors. France and Britain hinted at European Union sanctions against him.

The United States has talked openly of its concern about who might succeed Saleh, an ally in the fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a Yemen-based wing of the militant group.

Until last year, Saleh’s grip on power seemed unshakeable. In 2010, supporters pushed for constitutional changes to allow him unlimited five-year terms as president. Speculation was high that he was grooming one of his sons as a possible successor.

But popular uprisings that toppled Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak resonated in Yemen, drawing tens of thousands to daily protests in Sanaa and in Taiz to the south, threatening his apparent dynastic ambitions.

Saleh began to offer concessions.

First, he said he would not stand for re-election in 2013 and dismissed the idea of his son succeeding him. Then he offered a referendum on a new constitution by the end of the year and a shift to a truly democratic “parliamentary system.”

But after the death of 52 protesters in March, mostly by sniper fire, a string of generals, tribal leaders, diplomats and ministers either resigned or switched their allegiance to the protesters.

They included key figures in the al-Ahmar and Sanhan tribes, kinsmen who Saleh had placed in key military and other positions.

When confronted with a power transfer deal brokered by the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Saleh was forced to accept that he has lost the ability to win back his former allies, and sign up to the deal.

OVERSAW UNIFICATION

Saleh became the ruler of North Yemen in 1978 at a time when the south was a separate communist country, and has led the unified country since the two states merged in 1990.

Opponents often complained that he failed to address the basic needs of Yemen’s people, two-thirds of whom live on less than $2 per day. Oil wealth is dwindling and water is running out, though liquefied natural gas exports began in 2009.

Yet Saleh managed to keep Western and Arab powers on side.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities, Washington became more aware of Yemen as a source of foot soldiers for Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. Bin Laden himself, though born in Saudi Arabia, could trace his roots back to Yemen’s Hadramaut region.

Saleh cooperated with U.S. authorities, and the CIA started taking action against wanted figures. But by 2007, militants had regrouped in Yemen, and in 2008 they announced that their Saudi and Yemeni wings had united under the banner of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

From 2009, the resurgent group made ever bolder attempts to stage attacks on Saudi and U.S. targets beyond Yemen, as well as targeting foreign tourists at home. At the same time, Shi’ite Muslims in the north rebelled against Saleh’s rule and southerners, feeling marginalized, began a new separatist drive.

Saudi Arabia, the United States and other allies responded by stepping up financial support to bolster Saleh’s rule.

If Saleh has been a determined survivor, he has also been a charismatic and often popular ruler with a canny understanding of the workings of Yemeni society.

Born in 1942 near Sanaa, Saleh had only limited education before joining the military as a non-commissioned officer.

His first break came when President Ahmed al-Ghashmi, who came from the same Hashed tribe as Saleh, appointed him military governor of Taiz, North Yemen’s second city. When Ghashmi was killed by a bomb in 1978, Saleh replaced him.

In 1990, an array of domestic and regional circumstances propelled North Yemen under Saleh and the socialist South Yemen state into a unification that Saudi Arabia at first opposed.

He angered Riyadh by staying close to Saddam Hussein during the 1990-91 Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, leading to the expulsion of up to one million Yemenis from Saudi Arabia. Before the crisis, Kuwait had given Yemen financial aid.

But Saleh then won plaudits from Western powers for carrying out economic reforms drawn up by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, and made efforts to attract foreign investors.

His General People’s Congress party swept to victory in a 1993 parliamentary election, the first held after unification. South Yemen tried but failed to secede in a brief civil war in 1994 and Saleh then proceeded to move closer to Saudi Arabia, allowing an influx of its radical Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam. source – Yahoo News

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Israel

Iran Posts An Apocalyptic And Cryptic Message On Social Media Showing Tel Aviv Being Targeted By A Nuclear Missile In Retaliation For Attack By Israel

Published

2 minutes ago

March 6, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Is Iran getting ready to launch a nuclear missile on Tel Aviv in retaliation for Israel’s attack on Tehran?

Iran’s latest social media post showing a missile obliterating Tel Aviv is not just another piece of propaganda—it is a chilling glimpse into the mindset of a regime that openly dreams of wiping Israel off the map. When a nation posts imagery of a nuclear-style strike against a civilian city, it is sending a message that goes far beyond rhetoric. It is psychological warfare, intimidation, and a declaration that they see the destruction of Israel not as a tragedy, but as a victory.

“And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 49:38 (KJB)

Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that if war escalates they will strike “the heart of Tel Aviv,” a threat that has been echoed in propaganda banners and social media messaging tied to the regime. In the current conflict, Iran has already launched missile barrages toward Israeli cities after strikes on Iranian territory, pushing the Middle East closer to a direct regional war than at any point in decades. The Middle East stands right now on the brink of a war that no one but Trump and Hegseth wants but likely can’t be stopped if things continue to escalate much further.

Iran threatens to nuke Israel with chilling image showing missile obliterating Tel Aviv

FROM THE UK EXPRESS: Iran has shared a chilling image of a nuclear missile striking an Israeli city, which appears to be Tel Aviv. In a post on X, the account previously belonging to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that “Khorramshahr is ahead”, in reference to the ballistic missile named after the Iranian city.

The Zionist regime has made a big mistake, and its consequences will make the regime desperate, by God’s grace. pic.twitter.com/vBVMXIYjaf

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) March 6, 2026

Included in the post was also a striking image of the missile being developed underground, fired from a mobile launcher, and hitting what appears to be the Israeli city. In another post, the account promised consequences, “by God’s grace”, for “the Zionist regime”.

It said: “The Zionist regime has made a big mistake, and its consequences will make the regime desperate, by God’s grace.”

The city depicted in the image appears to be Tel Aviv, with an Israeli flag and coastal skyline visible. This comes after Tehran launched an overnight attack of cluster bombs targeting Tel Aviv, which were seen in shocking videos flying through the air before crashing into the ground. Huge blazes erupt as they smash into their targets, with witnesses watching on and filming the explosions. The cluster bombs open up as they zero in on their targets, sending around twenty smaller munitions flying out in a radius of roughly five miles. Each of the smaller missiles carries around 2.5kg of explosives, potentially causing huge damage.

Israel also inflicted the worst night of bombing on Tehran since the war began last weekend, launching a “broad-scale wave of strikes” aimed at wiping out the Islamic regime. The intense bombardment on Friday morning saw explosions ringing out across the city, and plumes of smoke and fire lighting up the sky. Residents said their homes shook and they were left without internet and power, plunging them into darkness. A man in his 30s told the BBC: “The house was shaking for five minutes straight. Last night was the worst night.” READ MORE

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“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Donald Trump

Boots On The Ground, Soaring Oil Prices, Europe Sending Nuclear Battleships And Thousands Of Americans Stranded But Trump Says Don’t Call It A War

Published

1 day ago

March 5, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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Trump and Vance promised us no new wars, and they’ve broken that promise in a spectacular end times assault on Iran and the Middle East

During the 2024 campaign, Donald Trump and JD Vance hammered a message that electrified millions of voters weary of endless Middle East entanglements: no new wars. It became a centerpiece of the America First pitch. After decades of Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria, the promise sounded like a breath of fresh air. Trump’s MAGA and QAnon followers went for it hook, line and sinker. But today, with the outbreak of what’s shaping up into a substantial war involving Iran, that campaign slogan is colliding head-on with reality.

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:9 (KJB)

Trump and Vance told voters they would keep America out of new conflicts. Yet now the United States finds itself engaged in direct military confrontation with one of the most volatile regimes in the Middle East. Whether supporters try to frame it as a “limited operation” or critics call it a full-scale war, one thing is undeniable — the promise of “no new wars” has evaporated. This is not about partisan politics. This is about a biblical truth that Christians should have learned long ago: never put your trust in political leaders. They will let you down every time. Trump and Vance promised restraint. Now there is war with Iran. Why does this happen? Because no political leader — no matter how strong, how popular, or how sincere — has the power to override the prophetic course that God has already set for this world. Jesus Christ told us plainly what the last days would look like.

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:6,7 (KJB)

That means no campaign slogan, no peace initiative, and no political movement can stop the trajectory of the last days. The closer we get to the end of the Church Age, the more unstable the world becomes — especially in the Middle East. And that brings us directly to Iran. From a prophetic standpoint, the Middle East will remain a powder keg because Israel sits at the center of God’s prophetic program. The Bible says that Jerusalem will become the focal point of global tension.

When he was campaigning for his second term, Trump promised no new wars, no Middle East entanglements, and no regime change. He has kept exactly none of those promises. Trump is the war president. pic.twitter.com/PFwDThR6bR

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) March 1, 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday ordered France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets during the war in the Middle East. Macron said the Charles de Gaulle carrier will be escorted by frigates and its air wing. In a prerecorded speech on French TV, Macron added that Rafale fighter jets, air-defense systems and airborne radar systems have been deployed over the past few hours in the Middle East. Trump may not be calling it a war, but it looks like everybody else is.

Trump and Vance both campaigned on the slogan of ‘No More Wars!’ but that was then and this is now

FROM THE ATLANITC: If J. D. Vance promised one thing during the 2024 presidential campaign, it was that America would not enter into a war with Iran of the kind that is currently raging. “America doesn’t have to constantly police every region of the world,” Vance told the comedian Tim Dillon on his podcast. He continued: “Our interest, I think very much, is in not going to war with Iran. It would be a huge distraction of resources. It would be massively expensive to our country.” In another podcast interview, with Shawn Ryan, in September 2024, Vance even said that a war between Israel and Iran was in fact “the most likely and most dangerous scenario” for provoking World War III.

These arguments look farcical now that President Trump has chosen—months after bombing Iran’s nuclear facilities and pronouncing its enrichment efforts “completely and totally obliterated”—to join Israel in launching a war on the Islamic Republic. The ensuing conflagration now involves a dozen countries in the Middle East. Trump says that he will do “whatever it takes” militarily and that “wars can be fought ‘forever.’” Vance’s X account, normally hyperactive, went silent in the days after bombs began falling on Saturday morning. The vice president was not at Mar-a-Lago with Trump as he oversaw the attack. The administration instead released a photo of him running a secondary meeting at the White House, flanked by a can of Diet Mountain Dew and a sullen-looking Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence. READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Headline News

As The Death Toll Of America Soldiers Continues To Rise, Ongoing Iranian Missile Attacks Are Posing An Unforeseen And Formidable Challenge To US Military

Published

4 days ago

March 3, 2026

Geoffrey Grider

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The United States is facing increasing risks to its military forces and diplomatic presence in the Middle East as Iran is launching waves of missile and drone attacks across the region that are testing its ability to defend a swath of territory.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine had advised President Trump and top officials that a military campaign against Iran could carry significant risks, in particular the possibility of becoming entangled in a prolonged conflict, Trump brushed that advice off and said it would be an easy win. Now only 5 days into the conflict, it’s looking like Trump should have taken his general’s advice. Estimates have gone from days, to weeks, and now months before Operation Epic Fury might conclude. Are we looking at Gulf War 3? Are we looking at World War 3? Everything is on the table right now.

“Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?” Luke 14:31 (KJB)

Pray for the brave men and women of our military, they have been put in harm’s way, and to date 6 soldiers have died in Operation Epic Fury. Iran is putting up much more resistance than Secretary of War Pete Hegseth led us to believe. In fact, the United States government closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait on Tuesday and ordered nonessential staff in several other countries to evacuate as Iran expanded its retaliatory attacks on U.S. targets in the Gulf region. Worse than that, after last year’s strike on Iran, the Department of War failed to restock its supply of missile interceptors which hover right now at a dangerously low point. It’s looking more and more likely that ground troops will be needed to complete the mission, something that I do not think the American public wants to see. I love our military, and support them 1,000% percent, but they have been put into a highly unfavorable position with the ‘Lethalitymaxxing’ grandstanding nonsense of incompetents like Pete Hegseth and his cosplay war machine warrior ethos marketing. We need real leaders or this thing could go very bad very fast. Now is the time to pray for our leaders, that God would save them and give them His wisdom, and pray for America who just may be drawn into a war that nobody wants on our 250th anniversary.

NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME FOR YOU TO BE HANDING OUT GOSPEL TRACTS, CLICK TO ORDER NOW!!

Iranian Drones and Missiles Challenge Stretched U.S. Forces

FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: U.S. Central Command said that six servicemembers had been killed in the three-day-old campaign on Monday. The six died in a drone strike on a base in Kuwait, The Wall Street Journal reported. Separately, three American F-15 jets were downed by apparent friendly fire over Kuwait on Monday, in one of the most significant losses of equipment for the U.S. in the operation. Bases that house U.S. forces have also come under attack in Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

“We have a very finite number of certain munitions,” said Daniel Byman, the director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The other thing is, there’s, there’s a lot to defend.”

The challenge for U.S. forces is handling Iranian attacks across a huge swath of the Middle East while trying to coordinate air defense with local allies. In addition to defending tens of thousands of American troops stationed in the region, the U.S. must also defend dozens of its embassies and other government installations. In the early hours of Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh was struck by drones, sustaining minor damage.

Iran’s stockpiles of short- and medium-range missiles, as well as swarms of explosive Shahed drones and electronic-warfare capabilities, pose a formidable threat to U.S. military bases in the region, said Ravi Chaudhary, a former assistant secretary of the Air Force in charge of installations.

“U.S. installations are going to be tested like never before in this particular conflict,” he said. “Our adversaries have demonstrated the intent and capability to go after our critical infrastructure to disrupt the ability of the United States to project air power.”

That challenge is mounting as Iran is widening its campaign of missile and drone strikes to include infrastructure that pumps much of the world’s oil and gas supply. An Iranian drone attack set fire to an important Saudi oil hub while Iranian strikes forced a halt to production of liquefied natural gas in Qatar, one of the world’s largest exporters. Iranian threats have all but stopped shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil chokepoint which connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

Those facilities are defended by both U.S. and local air defenses that are now facing their most difficult test ever. U.S. commanders in the region oversee coalition air defenses that include local partners, but both have been overwhelmed at times by Iranian missiles and drones in recent days.

The depth of Iran’s stockpiles, which include inexpensive drones that it can produce at scale, point to one area where it could try to outlast the U.S., which is facing a shortage of munitions for its Patriot and Thaad missile defenses. But the U.S. has other challenges in mounting its defense. Before the conflict, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned the White House that a fight with Iran risks American casualties and could deplete munitions needed for future conflicts with adversaries like China. READ MORE

President Trump sending mixed messages on the war in Iran and how it will end

The Trump administration offering evolving rationale for Operation Epic Fury in Iran while the president insists the United States will “easily prevail.”