I’m going to post a bunch of links and other information for readers to view/read for themselves

Iran’s IRGC attacks on US military assets in Bahrain, Kuwait in ‘Operation Nasr 2’

Iran claims strikes on weapons depots in Bahrain, drones in Kuwait

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said its navy and aerospace forces destroyed several weapons storage depots and vessel and aircraft parts at Bahrain’s Sheikh Isa base in a combined missile and drone strike, in its tenth communique on Operation Nasr 2, IRNA reported on July 14.

The IRGC said the same operation also hit the ramp used to deploy US MQ-9 drones at Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem base, destroying or damaging a number of the aircraft.

The UK proscribed “state enemy” group described the strikes as retaliation for US attacks that afternoon on several coastal stations belonging to Iran’s armed forces, and warned of further reprisals if the strikes continued, saying it would meet any repeat with what it called surprising responses.

The statement said Iran would keep responding in kind for as long “American crimes” continued, and warned that no oil or gas would be exported from the region while what it called American hostility persisted in the area, adding that the attacks would only delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The claims form part of a wider wave of communiques issued by the IRGC on July 14 under Operation Nasr 2, in which it earlier said its forces had struck weapons-support depots, a satellite communications centre and accommodation used by US personnel at Bahrain’s Juffair base, along with a Patriot radar, a Fifth Fleet air control radar and a counter-rocket, artillery and mortar radar system.

The attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait are in response to US attacks on Iran, earlier today

The Saudis attacked Yemen- Yemen retaliated

Report: Trump Backed Saudi Strike on Houthis

Trump approved this. I have zero doubt about that.

President Donald Trump approved Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s request for U.S. backing before a military strike targeting Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement, according to two U.S. officials cited by Axios.

Houthis: Saudi airport targeted in retaliation for strikes on Sanaa airport

Yemen’s Houthis say they struck Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport with missiles and drones in retaliation for a strike on Sanaa’s international airport

Again, thanks Trump and Bibi…

It seems the people of Bahrain are cheering the bombing of their country (majority Shia) Leadership Sunni

The area that Israel has co-opted in Syria is now part of their air corridor linking Israeli territory with that of Iran, cutting across Syria and northern Iraq into neighboring Iran

The Turks are (allegedly) deploying anti-aircraft weapons to the former Syrian Arab Army airbases at Palmyra and Menagh. Among those systems deployed that will complicate Israel’s ability to reliably launch and recover airstrikes into Iran are the S-400 Triumf, the Hisar-A and Hisar-O+, and the Korkut air defense systems.

Lots of talk about Israel attacking Iran aided by the US– Prepping for potential retaliation?- A second THAAD systen has been transferred to Israel

The US transferred a second THAAD anti-missile defense battery to Israel, according to a report published Sunday, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The Saudi Al-Hadath channel reported that the battery arrived in Israel on Saturday, as Iran and the US have traded threats in recent days surrounding talks over the Iranian nuclear program.

Flight tracking websites showed that an American C-5M Super Galaxy, the US Air Force’s largest transport plane, landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel on Saturday and remained there for around eight hours before taking off again.

Netanyahu is in Washington for hastily arranged talks

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington DC on Sunday night ahead of a series of hastily arranged meetings with US President Donald Trump and senior US officials over the next two days.

The meetings will largely focus on the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip and the hostages, of whom 59 are still in captivity, as well as Trump’s new tariff policy, under which Israeli goods face a 17 percent US tariff. Netanyahu’s office has also said that “Israel-Turkey relations, the Iranian threat and confronting the International Criminal Court” will be on the agenda.

The premier departed for Washington from Budapest on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the trip was announced.
The visit, which is expected to last until Tuesday but which Channel 12 reported could be extended, was said to have been planned following a three-way conversation last week between Netanyahu, Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Upon his arrival in Washington with his wife, Sara Netanyahu, the premier headed from the airport to Blair House in a convoy, where he met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Iran- USS Carl Vinson

New satellite imagery shows the USS Carl Vinson entering the Indian Ocean via the Malacca Straits, marking a significant step in the U.S. military’s increased presence in the region. This move comes as tensions with Iran and the Houthis in Yemen escalate, signaling the potential for a more aggressive U.S. stance in the coming days and weeks.

US Forces on the ground in Yemen??

A ground military operation targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels is reportedly in the planning stages, with potential backing from Saudi Arabia and the United States, CNN sources have revealed, according to Azernews.

The offensive is expected to be launched from the south and east of Yemen, as well as from the country’s coastal areas. However, the exact timeline for the operation remains undecided.

While the US military is not expected to deploy a full combat force on the ground, sources indicate that “a handful of special forces” may be involved, alongside aerial support through bombing missions.

The aerial bombing has been ongoing.

The US on Saturday launched a wave of air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, as Donald Trump warned that “hell will rain down upon” the Iran-backed group if they continue to attack shipping in the Red Sea. The US president also warned Iran to halt its support for the militant group “immediately”.

The attacks came days after the Houthis, which control most of Yemen’s populous north, threatened to resume attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. “Today, I have ordered the United States Military to launch decisive and powerful Military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American, and other, ships, aircraft, and drones”.

The Houthis halted their campaign after Israel and Hamas agreed to a fragile ceasefire in January under which the Palestinian militants agreed to release hostages seized in their October 7, 2023 assault on the Jewish state. But the Houthis warned this week that they would resume their attacks on shipping after Israel blocked the delivery of all aid (cutting off electricity as well) into Gaza in a bid to pressure Hamas to accept a revised proposal for the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY!” he said.

“Do NOT threaten the American People, their President, who has received one of the largest mandates in Presidential History, or Worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable and, we won’t be nice about it!”

America very clearly fighting on Israel’s behalf.

A few excerpt from the links below

Netanyahu vows to exact heavy price from houthis for missile attack

Houthi missiles reach central Israel for first time

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would inflict a “heavy price” on the Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen, after they reached central Israel with a missile on Sunday for the first time.
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Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that traveled 2,040 km (1270 miles) in just 11 1/2 minutes.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Yemen’s Houthi rebels will pay a “heavy price” after a ballistic missile struck central Israel for the first time on Sunday. A Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the hypersonic ballistic missile travelled 1,270 miles in just over 11 minutes. Sarea said the rebel group was targeting a “military target” in the Tel Aviv area. The Israeli military said it made several attempts to intercept the missile, but had not yet determined whether they were successful.

It added that the missile appeared to have fragmented mid-air. Responding to the incident, Netanyahu said: “The Houthis should have known by now that we exact a heavy price for any attempt to harm us… Anyone who needs a reminder is invited to visit the port of Hodeidah.” He was referring to an Israeli air strike against Yemen in July for a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv.

Miami Herald

Sky News

Sunday’s incident is believed to be the first time a surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen has reached Israel.

Houthi spokesman Nasruddin Amer said the weapon used was a “new hypersonic ballistic missile” that “the enemy’s defence systems failed to intercept and confront”.

He added: “It crossed a distance of 2,040km in 11-and-a-half minutes, and caused a state of fear and panic among the Zionists, as more than two million Zionists headed to shelters for the first time in the history of the Israeli enemy…

“The geographical challenges, the American-British aggression, and the monitoring, espionage and interception systems will not prevent beloved Yemen from performing its religious, moral and humanitarian duty in solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

Jerusalem Post

The surface-to-surface missile fired from Yemen into central Israel on Sunday morning had the longest range Israel has seen to date, former IDF Air Defense commander Brig.-Gen. Zvika Haimovich (res.) told 103FM later that day.

“What I understand, from the details I know right now, is that the incident under investigation is about a long-range missile from Yemen, probably the longest of what we have experienced so far from Yemen, and it is not the first,” Haimovich said. “We have seen them in the Eilat area, too.

“The missile, in its relatively early flight, was constantly under detection and being monitored,” he continued. “For a range of over 1,600-1,700 km., it takes 13-15 minutes, which is a very long time. The warning time for a resident [of central Israel] is a minute and a half, no matter where it comes from. Attempts were made to intercept the missile.”

He explained that the multiple explosions heard in Tel Aviv and surrounding cities were from the interceptors being launched, not from multiple missiles being fired at Israel.

“Was the missile hit by our interceptor, or did it disintegrate in the air?” he asked rhetorically. “It is too early to know. What is certain is that this threatening missile did not reach its target and fell into open areas in the end. Is that because it was hit by our interceptions, or did it fall apart in midair? That is what they must continue to investigate.”

There is no way this is going to sit well with the US or Israel.

An overview from the Stimson Centre (US Based Think Tank)

At a time of global tension over the war in Ukraine and rising great power competition, the announcement that China has brokered a reconciliation deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia is good news on a number of levels.

Much remains to be learned about the China-brokered arrangement. However it is notable, according to Iranian media, that Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reimplement two previous accords: one on security cooperation dating back to 2001 and another, reached in 1998, on promoting economic, trade, investment, technical, scientific and people-to-people ties. Both these agreements were reached when Mohammad Khatami was Iran’s president and sought to improve Iran’s relations with regional actors as well as the West. Since that time, China’s clout has risen significantly as a major economic player, while the US reputation has been tarnished by the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

The US reputation has been tarnished by the 200s invasion of Iraq and every colour revolution/destabilization murderous regime change that has followed, as well as the 08/09 financial crisis!

In mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia, China benefited from the fact that it is the major purchaser of oil from both countries. China has been Iran’s number one trading partner since 2010, when Iran was contending with US-led multilateral economic sanctions imposed due to its nuclear advances. China has continued to purchase significant amounts of Iranian crude despite the resumption of US sanctions in 2018 and has become the Iranian regime’s lifeline.

When the Biden administration was inaugurated and sought to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran-Saudi tensions began to ease. Iraq began an effort to mediate between the two countries, but that process lapsed after Iraq changed prime ministers last year.

There will be some who see Friday’s news as diminishing the perception of US power, but Americans should welcome this agreement. It shows that China can be a constructive player in a crisis-ridden region at a time when much of the rest of the world is preoccupied by the war in Ukraine. (Stimson is mistaken in their presentation here- the fact that China, Saudi Arabia and Iran could work this deal out makes very clear the rest of the world is NOT occupied with Ukraine) The news may annoy some in Israel, who yearn for a US-Israeli-Arab military alliance against Tehran. But Persian Gulf Arab infrastructure’s clear vulnerabilities to destruction by Iranian missiles and drones mean that such an alliance was always a stretch.

If Iran and Saudi Arabia follow through on their pledges and restore normal diplomatic ties in the next two months, this should help solidify a fragile truce in Yemen’s brutal civil war and benefit other regional conflicts. It could help boost Lebanon’s battered economy and also bring benefits to Iraq and Syria.

I agree with the above paragraph- Yemen could calm right down. Potential game changer for Syria. Lebanon too.

Some of those who seek quick regime change in Iran will likely be disappointed by this move, (Israel/US) especially if it leads Saudi Arabia to reduce support for Iran International, a Persian-language satellite channel that has strongly promoted recent protests in Iran and given a big platform to exiled contenders to replace the theocrats at Iran’s helm. The Mujaheddin-e Khalq, another foreign-based Iranian opposition group that has benefited in the past from Saudi largesse, may also see a reduction in resources.

If China—whose president, Xi Jinping, was just re-inaugurated for a third term—wants to build on this achievement, it could start by convincing Iran to accept a deal reviving the JCPOA that has been pending since last August. This would not only facilitate Iran-China trade and investment but also reduce concerns about regional nuclear proliferation by the Saudis, among others.

For those in the West who now see China as the only “near-peer competitor” to the US, threatening US interests in the Pacific and scooping up Americans’ personal information via smartphone apps, the Iran-Saudi deal is a reminder that big powers can also contribute to peace through diplomacy. The US, which has had no diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, was in no position to broker this agreement. Thankfully, China was and did.