West Asia News and Discussions (YEMEN, gulf)

RSoami · Post by **RSoami** » 03 Dec 2014 14:06

http://www.dw.de/iran-carries-out-airst ... a-18107092

The Pentagon has said that Iranian fighter jets have struck Islamic State militants in eastern Iraq. The attacks, however, were "not coordinated" with the US.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 04 Dec 2014 21:52

Why is the US announcing Iran strikes!

BTW is Syria off the radar?

RSoami · Post by **RSoami** » 05 Dec 2014 00:53

^^ Iran says that it has done no such thing. No air strikes. The news first appeared in Israel.
Could be an attempt by Israel, US to direct ISIS towards Iran and drive a wedge between Shias and Sunnis.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 06 Dec 2014 14:41

Published on Dec 6, 2014
Iran confirms air strikes in Iraq against ISIS: Reuters

BAGHDAD (REUTERS) - A senior Iranian official has confirmed his country carried out air strikes in neighbouring Iraq against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group at the request of Iraqi authorities, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported.

It quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Rahimpour as saying the strikes were not coordinated with the United States, which is also waging an air campaign against the radical Sunni Muslim militants who control large parts of north and west Iraq.

The purpose of the strikes was "the defence of the interests of our friends in Iraq", the newspaper quoted Rahimpour as saying in an interview in London.

"We did not have any coordination with the Americans. We have coordinated only with the Iraqi government," he said.

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 06 Dec 2014 14:46

RSoami wrote:^^ Iran says that it has done no such thing. No air strikes. The news first appeared in Israel.
Could be an attempt by Israel, US to direct ISIS towards Iran and drive a wedge between Shias and Sunnis.

No, I think Iran has been trying to get a feel for this slowly. First they pushed Suleimani into a bigger role and more media prominence. Then they are doing this. They are slowly taking the kid gloves out. It fits the normal pattern that's been happening for a few months now.

It also hints to me that the US and Iran are ready for a n-deal. Now for someone to backtrace and think of all the bkgrnd decisions too - turkey move, OPEC decision, KSA, Qatari moves, Russian stakes etc etc.

For me the fact that the decision to send back ambassadors to Qatar was done, seemed pretty telling. Whats more, KSA has sent back its ambassador too.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 08 Dec 2014 12:38

The British Empire strikes back,the neo-Imperialists and neo-colonialists are returning in full force after a brief interval of a fe decades,where for 500+ years the Europeans held Asia in slavery and thralldom.India has to factor in the revanchist dsigns of the neo-imperialists in its strategic defence and security policy and diversify its energy imports from the Gulf just as China is doing,making huge $400B deals with Russia.The time is ripe with Pres. Putin's visit. The Hindu also had an article today about building up energy reserves in major depots when prices are low.

[/b]Protests erupt over British decision to open military base in Bahrain [/b]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... hrain.html
Human rights groups say Britain is being rewarded by the Gulf state's monarchy for its silence over political jailings

The protest in Sitra on Saturday night was broken up by police firing tear gas, but there were no reported injuries. Photo: EPA/MAZEN MAHDI

Richard Spencer
By Richard Spencer, Manama

2:43PM GMT 07 Dec 2014
Britain’s decision to open a major naval base in Bahrain despite concerns over the country’s human rights record has been met with protests by opposition groups and human rights activists.
Hundreds of protesters were filmed marching through the town of Sitra, a Shia opposition stronghold, calling for the removal of the British ambassador, Iain Lindsay, after the decision was announced.

Activists said Bahrain’s decision to largely fund the base was a “reward” for Britain’s recent silence over the jailing of opponents to the Sunni monarchy.

International groups also objected to the decision. “As Bahrain pursues brutal crackdown, what better time for UK to build military base there?” said Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch’s executive director.

The decision to reopen Britain’s first permanent base “East of Suez” since the drawdown of Empire was announced by Philip Hammond, the Foreign Secretary, on the sidelines of the Manama Dialogue, a conference organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, on Saturday.

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06 Dec 2014

He said Britain would have to take up a greater role in helping Middle East states remain stable as the United States “pivoted” towards the Asia-Pacific region. Britain pulled its military out of the Gulf in 1971, a decision that the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon, said led to 40 years of “short-termist” thinking about its policy in the Middle East.

A protester in Sitra island holds a placard carrying a picture of Iain Lindesy, ambassador of the UK to Bahrain (EPA/MAZEN MAHDI)

The base at Port Mina Salman, which will be expanded to be a permanent facility for Britain’s Royal Navy, including its new aircraft carriers, will be largely funded by Bahrain.

The monarchy in 2011 violently repressed a pro-democracy opposition movement led by the country’s Shia majority, and continues to jail human rights campaigners. It accuses them of supporting terrorism and being backed by Iran, but Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of a Shia activist serving a life sentence for his part in the 2011 uprising, was handed a three-year jail term only on Thursday for ripping up a picture of King Hamad.

The protest in Sitra on Saturday night was broken up by police firing tear gas, but there were no reported injuries.

Video showed a line of men and women - segregated - marching through the streets holding Bahraini flags and a photograph of Mr Lindsay with a gag over his mouth saying: “Shut up Iain Lindsay”.

The British ambassador to Bahrain at the time of the uprising, James Bowden, fell foul of government supporters for meeting opposition leaders. Mr Lindsay has been vilified by those same opposition groups for his perceived support for the government.

Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, who is currently on bail for posting “offensive tweets”, said Mr Lindsay’s statements sounded as if they came from the government itself.

He contrasted Britain’s role with that of the United States, which also maintains a major base for its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain but which has been overtly critical of the country’s rulers, including over the jailing of Ms Khawaja.

In a major diplomatic rift, the authorities ordered the US’s assistant secretary of state for human rights, Tom Malinowski, to leave the country in July after he met the leader of the opposition Wefaq party.

“We have been struggling for many years and the British government has always taken the side of the oppressive regime and all the dictators in the Gulf region,” Mr Rajab said.

The House of Commons foreign affairs select committee criticised Britain’s attitude to Bahrain in a report last month. “We see little or no evidence that Bahrain has made enough progress in implementing political reform and safeguarding human rights, and we believe that the FCO should have bitten the bullet and designated Bahrain as a country of concern,” it concluded.

However, senior officials in Bahrain pointed to last month’s election, which recorded a voter turn-out of 52 per cent despite an opposition boycott. One official close to the Crown Prince claimed to The Telegraph that increasing number of Shia were supporting the “reform process” which he was overseeing.

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 08 Dec 2014 14:27

lots of interesting stuff happening.

a. Looks like Abu Mazen might have some trouble? Is it with discreet western backed dissent?
b. Iran has admitted, cautiously, about striking at IS tgts. [Hear that: KSA, Qatar, Turkey, Bahrain et al? Take that!]
c. pt b widely expected as a way to promote Shiite power... and also subtly hint that Iran will not accept reduction of Shiite domination in Iraq. [Hear that Sunnis?]
d. Israel attacked Syria (Syrian armed forces) near Damascus. They usu do it only when Syrian armed forces try to shift arms and ammo to Hizbs. No confirmation of that yet? WTF is happening. One-off or a strategic shift? I do know that Kerry and Erdogan met a few days back and there were trial balloons about a NFZ, safe zone for ~~Islamic terrorists~~ western backed moderate rebels etc... Mmh.

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 09 Dec 2014 06:02

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/origina ... roups.html

UAE declares EU muslim organization as terrorist organizations, including Muslim Association of Britain. Given the large number of europeans joining ISIL, good call by the UAE.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 09 Dec 2014 15:12

Britain punching above its weight,what?!

Opposition to Bahrein base within Britain

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/com ... 08344.html

Patrick Cockburn
Sunday 7 December 2014

Building a British naval base in Bahrain is a 'symbolic choice' – for no clear reason
World View: The authoritarian kingdom where doctors are tortured is a strange place for this £15m investment

The British decision to spend £15m establishing a naval base at Mina Salman Port in Bahrain is being presented as a "symbolic" deal to increase stability in the region, guard against unnamed threats and strengthen Britain's partnership with the states of the Gulf.

The agreement will identify Britain as an old colonial power strongly supporting the Sunni monarchy in Bahrain that mercilessly crushed demands for democracy and civil rights from the island's Shia majority during the Arab Spring in 2011. Even by the standards of the time, repression was excessive. Shia mosques and holy places were bulldozed. Doctors at the main hospital in Bahrain that treated injured protesters were tortured by being forced to stand without sleep for days on end. Other prisoners were told that unless they sang the praises of the king their interrogators would urinate into their mouths.

At the heart of the crisis convulsing this part of the Middle East is a struggle between Sunni and Shia, and Britain has openly taken the side of the former. It may not necessarily be a good long-term investment. The total population of states bordering on the Gulf is about 145 million of whom at least 110 million are Shia. It is a mistake to think that the Shia in the rest of the Middle East do not notice or care what happens to their co-religionists in Bahrain. The Islamic State (Isis) fighters have become the shock troops of the Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria but their extremism and international isolation may lead to a defeat for the Sunni in both countries.

READ MORE
• Britain to establish military base in Bahrain
• British military base in Bahrain is a 'reward' for UK's silence, say campaigners

There is no question about Bahrain's toxic human rights record. An independent inquiry in 2011 catalogued abuses and, despite promises of reform, torture and mistreatment continue. Last year even the United States State Department, normally cautious when it comes to highlighting the failings of the Sunni monarchies of the Gulf, said that the abuses in Bahrain included "citizens' inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights."

Only last week Bahraini human rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting the king" by tearing up his photograph. She had just given birth to her second child, and is free on bail pending appeal. Her father, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, is already in jail serving a life term for his role in encouraging the Arab Spring protests.

Nabeel Rajab, one of Bahrain's leading human rights activists, was arrested on 1 October because he "offended national institutions" by his comments on social media. Mr Rajab had criticised the government for using counterterrorism laws to prosecute human rights defenders, and had accused the Bahraini security forces of encouraging violent beliefs similar to those of IS.

He pointed out that a former Bahraini interior ministry officer, Mohamed Isa al-Binali, had joined Isis and was calling on other interior ministry employees to do likewise. Among Mr Rajab's tweets was one saying: "Many Bahrain men who joined terrorism & Isis came from security institutions and those institutions were the first ideological incubator." The Bahraini security forces often draw their personnel from other Sunni states such as Pakistan and Jordan and they then become naturalised Bahraini citizens. The Bahraini Shia say there is a continuing campaign to deny them jobs in all sectors and to change the demographic balance on the island in favour of the Sunni.

There has always been a strong strain of hypocrisy in the claims of the US and Britain to support secular democracy and civil rights in countries such as Libya and Syria. They do so in alliance with Sunni theocratic absolute monarchies such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and UAE which understandably have no interest in spreading secular democracy anywhere. In 2011, UAE said it would refuse to join the coalition against the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi if there was any criticism of Bahraini repression.

The most powerful figure in Bahrain is widely regarded as being not King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa but the Prime Minister, Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa who has held his office since 1970. Calls for his resignation were one of the main demands of demonstrators three years ago, but he has steadfastly refused to step down.

Bahrain was a British protectorate from the 19th century until independence in 1971, ruled by the al-Khalifa dynasty that has long looked to Britain to shield it from international reaction against domestic repression. From the mid-1960s the head of security on the island was Ian Henderson who had played a role in the suppressing the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya in the 1950s. Successive periods of protest were harshly dealt with. Since 2011 Britain has played a role in muting the international reaction to the suppression of the protests by emphasising that a dialogue is under way and reforms are being introduced, though nobody else sees any sign of these going anywhere. It has played along with Bahraini government claims that Iran is orchestrating Shia dissent on the island though there is no evidence for this.

Sectarian hatreds between the Sunni and Shia communities within Bahrain have deepened in the last three years with the Shia more marginalised than ever. There had been divisions within the royal family about how to handle dissent, with the King and Crown Prince seeking compromise and the Prime Minister and the branch of the al-Khalifa known as "Khawalids" opposed to sharing any power with the majority. But these differences seem to have ended with a victory for the latter faction which can increasingly ignore Shia protests that are confined to villages and the outskirts of the capital, Manama.

It is not at all clear why Britain needs to establish its first permanent naval base in the Middle East since 1970 in Bahrain, other than the fact that it is possible to do so. British intervention in Iraq after 2003 saw the deployment of ground troops in Basra, but they were far too few to control the city or the surrounding countryside. There was a political failure to understand the degree of popular hostility and resistance this force would face. Much the same happened in Helmand Province in Afghanistan after 2006, when again the numbers of British soldiers were too few to assert control while they were enough to provoke local opposition. The base in Bahrain will be used to support RAF operations against the Islamic State in Iraq, but these are on such a small scale that they will not do much to affect the outcome of the war with Isis. Most British disasters in the Middle East over the past century have stemmed from wishing to be a major player in the region, while underestimating the resources necessary to do so.

Philip · Post by **Philip** » 10 Dec 2014 11:02

OPEC collapsing?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/oilp ... -dies.html
Bank of America sees $50 oil as Opec dies

"Our biggest worry is the end of the liquidity cycle. The Fed is done. The reach for yield that we have seen since 2009 is going into reverse”, said Bank of America.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 24 Dec 2014 18:47

Things just turned interesting

Jordanian fighter shot down by ISIS and pilot captured

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/is- ... ?ocid=iehp

plane was a F 16

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 26 Dec 2014 10:08

^^^ Now pilots family on TV english/arabic begging b-rothers to treat him as a guest!

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 26 Dec 2014 18:41

thats kind of expected - I feel for them

but I am perplexed that the US did not have something nearby to pound ISIS (mc 130s whatever) and send a rescue unit
almost seems they relaxed a bit and got caught off guard

wonder if the coalition of the willing will now have the stomach for this

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 26 Dec 2014 20:37

ISIS warned to to harm captured Jordanian pilot

In the photo that accompanies the article, the pilot isn't wearing his flight suit or even underwear? Did they strip him to check for circumcision status?

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 27 Dec 2014 11:51

I hope Ex- and current Jordanian Aircraft have reliability issues and crash soon in numbers. Any nation which has purchased aircraft from Jordan should have all itss F-16's sold soon or crash.

Haresh · Post by **Haresh** » 03 Jan 2015 17:40

Trojan horse: ISIS militants come to Europe disguised as refugees, US intel sources claim

http://rt.com/news/193400-isis-militants-pose-refugees/

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 05 Jan 2015 22:14

This is big. Since high posts are occupied by members of royal family, repercussions will be high and severe.

Saudi general "killed in attack on border with Isil-held Iraq"

A Saudi general in charge of border security with Isil-controlled areas of Iraq has been killed in a suicide attack.

General Oudah al-Belawi, commander of border operations in Saudi Arabia’s northern zone, died after a skirmish between guards and attackers early on Monday, local newspapers reported.

The Saudi interior ministry confirmed a senior officer and another guard were killed after the attackers opened fire at a patrol.

One of the attackers was captured, but blew himself up with a suicide belt.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 06 Jan 2015 10:01

looks like it is far bigger than what Al Jazzeera or Saudis initially had people believing, where some 2 border guards were killed, a senior officer would have been atleast a few Kms from the border.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 06 Jan 2015 13:34

and would be surrounded by few hundred men

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 13 Jan 2015 23:44

Fearing ISIS, Saudi Arabia Turns Back to Washington

In a predawn raid earlier this month, armed militants operating from the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, breached the northern Saudi Arabia border and launched a suicide attack on a military post, reportedly killing three border guards. After ISIS claimed credit for the strike, it emerged that one of the dead Saudi soldiers was General Oudah al-Belawi, the commander of all Saudi forces in the northern part of the country. Normally, such high-ranking officers don’t visit the border, which suggests that ISIS may have been tipped off in advance about the general’s travel plans.

Saudi officials don’t like to talk about it, but experts who closely follow developments inside the kingdom say ISIS enjoys growing support among ordinary Saudis, who see the group as the true champion of embattled Sunnis in their sectarian struggles against the Shiite-led governments in Iran and elsewhere. For many Saudis, ISIS also stands for a righteous, austere brand of Islam, while the royal family, they believe, is irredeemably corrupt.
........
But Saudi Arabia’s fears also come at a time when the health of King Abdullah, 90, appears to be deteriorating, raising the possibility of a succession struggle within the royal family.
.......
U.S. Middle East experts say confronting the ISIS challenge inside the kingdom won’t be easy. Last August, King Abdullah criticized his country’s own religious scholars, calling them “lazy” for not publicly challenging ISIS’s interpretation of Islam. But Bernard Heykal, a Middle East expert at Princeton, says the fact that Abdullah felt he needed to scold his religious scholars underscores the internal challenges facing the royal family. “There are enough religious scholars who believe what ISIS is doing is not wrong,” he said.

Shanmukh · Post by **Shanmukh** » 19 Jan 2015 09:49

A very long, very nice interview by the outgoing chief of Israeli Military Intelligence in Israel HaYom

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newslet ... p?id=22837

govardhanks · Post by **govardhanks** » 19 Jan 2015 17:09

nageshks wrote:A very long, very nice interview by the outgoing chief of Israeli Military Intelligence in Israel HaYom

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newslet ... p?id=22837

nagesh sir, really thanks for the link, clarifies certain things! SECRETS and MYSTERIES

!
Only two countries(I&I) know the ideological war and its potential of unstoppable nature, US knows or experienced only half of it, European and western countries still don't know what they are facing and its potential!

RSoami · Post by **RSoami** » 19 Jan 2015 21:10

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Confl ... ays-388200

Israel attacks Hezbollah top brass. Kills an Iranian General too.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Confl ... ays-388200

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Jan 2015 05:21

Syria represents a dictatorship that has been brought to its knees and almost non-existence by Islamist minions.

Can TSP be the next Syria?

ISIS= TTP

Assad group = TSPA group

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 20 Jan 2015 05:26

Ramanaji, But isn't Assad a shia and the ISIS terrorists sunnis? A closer analogy seems to be ISIS and the Saudi regime since both are the same shade of green just like the TTP and the TSPA.

ramana · Post by **ramana** » 20 Jan 2015 05:42

Doesn't matter. KSA is not facing erasure. Syria is.
How can we map Syria to TSP?

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 20 Jan 2015 10:45

we cannot map Syria to TSP.

none of TSP's partners want TSPA to die and be overthrown by TTP or other Jihadis.

KSA/PRC/USA/UK: none of them have any incentive to actively undermine and overturn TSPA.

unless TSPA "lower orders" decide to cutlet the "officers" and "bestow" power to TTP or coalition of ISIS-allied jihadis (including TTP), TSP will not turn into Syria.

we might have to accept reality that TSP is here to stay...IOW, no amount of "waiting and watching" might rid us of this devil.

I don't see the 4-fathers undermining and removing the TSPA from power.

govardhanks · Post by **govardhanks** » 20 Jan 2015 14:04

devesh wrote:we cannot map Syria to TSP.

How come sir, would you please explain a little more, I see common devil's hand in both cases.

devesh · Post by **devesh** » 21 Jan 2015 07:33

what's there to explain? the forces which brought down Assad in Syria don't have any motive to do similar moves on TSPA. and TSPA == TSP.

I don't see how Syria and Pak can be mapped to each other. it's a different game altogether. TSPA's backers are the ppl who brought down Syria. pre-2011 Syria is gone for all intents and purposes. Assad might yet survive but the old Syria doesn't exist anymore.

Y. Kanan · Post by **Y. Kanan** » 21 Jan 2015 21:25

devesh wrote:we cannot map Syria to TSP.

none of TSP's partners want TSPA to die and be overthrown by TTP or other Jihadis.

KSA/PRC/USA/UK: none of them have any incentive to actively undermine and overturn TSPA.

unless TSPA "lower orders" decide to cutlet the "officers" and "bestow" power to TTP or coalition of ISIS-allied jihadis (including TTP), TSP will not turn into Syria.

we might have to accept reality that TSP is here to stay...IOW, no amount of "waiting and watching" might rid us of this devil.

Meanwhile, in other news the sky is blue.

I can't believe how many naive people on this forum have been clinging to this dream of Pakistan collapsing for so many years. Meanwhile they've gotten stronger while India sat on its hands.

Prem · Post by **Prem** » 23 Jan 2015 04:34

Saudi King died.Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Is Dead, Succeeded by Prince Salman.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/saudi-ara ... UAy82TmYlQ

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah died and has been succeeded by Prince Salman, state-run Saudi media reported, citing the royal court.The king, who was born in 1924, died at 1 a.m. local time, the press agency said. He was admitted to hospital on Dec. 31 and was later diagnosed with pneumonia. Prince Muqrin has been named Crown Prince.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 23 Jan 2015 05:21

Do we RIH Abdullah or RIP?

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 23 Jan 2015 07:30

World's no 1 terrorist sponsor has died!

vijaykarthik · Post by **vijaykarthik** » 23 Jan 2015 07:33

Will Salman abdicate in a few months and make Muqrin the King eventually? Should be an interesting few months! Hes ailing too, Salman. Start the power struggles!

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 23 Jan 2015 08:08

This terror sponsor will be replaced with new and improved terror sponsors -- Abdullah probably has not been involved in matters of state for a while now, so it is these newly anointed princelings that are responsible for the recent bouts of islamist mayhem around the planet.

UlanBatori · Post by **UlanBatori** » 23 Jan 2015 08:20

Will Salman abdicate in a few months and make Muqrin the King eventually?

Will ISIS and AQ allow this opportunity to pass? Seems the best in a generation!

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 23 Jan 2015 08:24

Oddly enough, one wants to cheer the ISIS to go do a takedown of Saudi Arabia as soon as possible before Barack Obama sends out the troops to ensure that does not happen -- BO seems really keen to get congressional approval for an anti-ISIS campaign. Taking on the ISIS on behalf of KSA should keep the US safer in the coming years, right?

Abdulaziz family tree:

http://graphics.wsj.com/saudi-arabia-family-tree/

Apparently "Abdullah" was the "liberal" one compared to Khaled, Faisal and Fahd...go figure that one.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 23 Jan 2015 08:24

AQ and ISIS's main goal seems to be to overthrow the Al Saud dynasty and establish true islam there, gain control of the holy mosques and thereby the ummah, and the oil wealth.

Everything else they do, is just to be in the news as the greenest of the green.

Gagan · Post by **Gagan** » 23 Jan 2015 08:30

After OBL was killed and duly disgraced, and then AQ not being able to mount any significant incident, an ISIS was bound to emerge.
Both with the same goal - the middle eastern power struggle

Tuvaluan · Post by **Tuvaluan** » 23 Jan 2015 08:31

Nothing like ISIS taking over Mecca and Medina to ensure that Islam's purity is close to 100% all over the world. It would be interesting to see how they conduct Haj tourism after a takeover. Weekend mass beheadings and public stonings and lashes...something for everyone in the family...oh wait, that is KSA today.