Iran And Saudi Arabia Battle It Out In Yemen

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It was just after midnight when the Saudis gave the go-ahead for their warplanes to start pounding Shia rebel, known as Houthi, positions in the capital and the south of the country.

The urgent request for help came from the country's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and led to a frenzy of meetings and calls as Saudi Arabia put together a broad coalition to support its intervention within hours.

The venue was perfect - all the Arab foreign ministers (minus Syria) are gathered in the Egyptian resort Sharm el Sheikh for an Arab League summit. Sources say sideline meetings on Yemen continued well into the night.

Saudi is painting the intervention as a necessary step to defend itself as well as restore the "legitimate" government of Mr Hadi.

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Gallery: Yemen: Aftermath Of Airstrikes By Saudi Arabia And Gulf Allies

People search for survivors under the rubble of houses destroyed by an air strike near Sana'a Airport in Yemen. Continue through for more images

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But the Houthis have been in control of large parts of the country for months while the president has effectively been under house arrest so it's hard to see how his authority would be fully restored without an all-out war.

In other words, there is no clear end game to the Saudi-led aggression, which will undoubtedly continue to cause more bloodshed and chaos.

While it's easy to see what's happening in Yemen as a battle between Sunni and Shia Muslims, in reality, Yemen has become the battleground for Saudi and Iran to play out an ugly, proxy war for power and influence in the region.

The Houthi rebels are known to be backed by Iran and Iranian officials have already called Saudi air strikes an "invasion" of Yemen.

Neither side is backing down as Saudi continues to gather support from its allies with Egypt, Sudan, UAE just some of the countries that have promised to commit their militaries to the fight against the Houthis.

Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry went further, explaining the involvement in Yemen was is in the context of fighting terrorism.

The UK and the US have both expressed their support for Saudi action – the US is providing intelligence and other logistical help.

On the same night as Saudi attacked Yemen, the US launched air strikes in support of Iran-backed Shia militias in Iraq and Secretary of State John Kerry was preparing for a meeting to discuss an historic nuclear deal with Iran.

It all looks like a staggeringly confused and seemingly rudderless Middle East policy.

The Saudi-led air strikes are more likely to deepen the crisis in Yemen, drawing in regional powers and possibly even ending the Cold War phase of the Saudi-Iranian power struggle.

Meanwhile, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Islamic State militants (which claimed a double bombing, killing more than 100 people in Sana'a) can only be strengthened as a result of the chaos and fight against their Houthi foes.

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