government. people still went to the markets, people still had their weddings people still tried to, you know, maintain a normal life. there weren't any cases of high crime rate or robbery, in spite of the complete absence of a form of security, yemenis really want to live. what iran and saudi arabia is doing right now is turn this is in to a war zone where nothing is going to come from it but revenge. the one thing theup should have done is to listen to the 20 points that were suggested by the national dialogue conference operation committee. those 20 points would have built a right base for guy log and would have prevented all of that. the one right thing that the u.n. can do is to stop dealing with yemen as an agenda, to start listening to local experts instead of his he inning to expats who only look at yemen as a war seen and as a model fighting al qaeda. there is more in to yemen and in no yemenis than fighting al

qaeda and what is happening is only going to make al qaeda bigger, it's going to create more militias, it's going to create more hatred. you can only imagine if you lose a relative under such shellings how you would grow, how you would feel and how in the middle of all of this poverty and the absence of basic services there would be no option but to join one militia or the other. we have rolling coverage on the yemen crisis. if you have joined us a saudi led coalition began an operation in yemen, targetting the houthi prices. several places have been hit. there are reports that dozens are dead and injured.

the saudi arabia ambassador to the u.s. made the announcement. let's listen in to what he has to say. >> the objective is to defend the legitimate government of president abd-rabbu mansour hadi from the take over from houthi militias. the use of force is the last resort and it's with great reluctance to take the step with partners in the g.c.c. countries and outside of the g.c.c. countries, there's a coalition of over 10 countries that will participate in the operations to prevent yemen from falling. we put forth the g.c.c. initiative and worked on the dialogue in yemen to have a

peaceful transition to a new yemen the saudis newsagency released a joint statement reading: well the crisis in yemen has been many months in the making. shia houthi fighters took over part of the capital sanaa amid the economic worsening conditions. in january it deteriorated after a draft proposal was refused. they seized buildings, forcing abd-rabbu mansour hadi to resign in what was called a coup. president abd-rabbu mansour hadi escaped to aden where he denounced the houthis and claimed to be the president of yemen. a few days ago he called on an

intervention to stop the houthi fighters. joining us on set is omar al saleh who has been covering the story for many months. was this inevitable. was there no other way apart from a strike against the rebels and their tart? >> i think it's the conclusion that the g.c.c. reached as a time. they gave time for diplomacy and the u.n. special envoy to try to sort out a deal. each time every time the u.n. as well as the political parties in yemen reach a deal with the houthis, it seems they sign a deal and the houthis go on and control more territory. i'll give you an example. on the day that sanaa fell the houthis were engaged in a dialogue for several forces. forces outside the building. they were controlling more - the rest of the capital of sanaa. they signed a peace and

partnership agreement. that deal was to give the houthis more say in the government and more representation in the government, and they formed a new prime minister. they have a number of ministerial posts and so on. yet they went on to control more territory. i think there's a lack of trust for the houthis, and the end game was not reaching a deal with the other political parties to go on and control the rest of yemen. >> the houthis also rejected peace talks that were supposed to be sponsored by doha held in doha. they said they do not trust the fact that president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is being backed by his allies and they are hosting these peace negotiations. you can understand that it's not a mutual ground in which to hold peace negotiations. >> that is true. as far as the houthis are concerned, president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is not the

president. they accuse him of being is puppet of the west and regional powers, referred to as saudi arabia and qatar. i remember reading a statement on social media saying we reject meeting in riyadh and doha and having lunch in dubai, he was being sarcastic saying what is going on outside of yemen is none of our business. i remember him saying that there was a dialogue taking place. i think he's making reference to the forces while aligned with the houthis. as far as qatar and saudi arabia are concerned, the houthis are seen as bias. they are seen as enemies, rather than supporters of yemen the houthis say it's a yemen problem, and it's rich coming from a group backed by another foreign power, iran.

>> absolutely. this is the irony in all of this. the houthis are funded armed, backed by iran and that's why they've managed to get a lot of their military achievement, because of that backing militarily, financial and political support. remember when the houthis took control of the capital. a senior member came out and said this is the expansion and goals of the islamic revolution. clearly they are backed by iran. it's not a matter of accusations, it's a fact. >> stay with us i want to come back to you on an issue a little later. the saudi arabian ambassador to the u.s. said the operation is not limited to a specific part in yemen. air strikes targeted sanaa and aden. in sanaa the presidential palace, the police and special forces headquarters have been bombed. attacks were launched on sanaa's

airport and nearby decliny air base. in aden alanard air base was targeted. we have seen specific tart there that have been targeted by the saudi coalition. what is behind the military strategy. >> i think it's to weaken and degrade the capability of the houthis, and the yemeni military to topple the president saleh. an air base was destroyed, radar, missile positions, command and control centers. sanaa's airport was hit, and the strong sealed for the houthis was targeted. i think there's a bank of targets, the saudis and they'll destroy, if not already destroyed. if not they'll destroy them in the coming hours or days.

>> we are talking about infrastructure that has been affected. you have been to yemen before are the targets near civilian areas, in which civilians could be effected? >> no they are not. main military bases are on the outskirts of sanaa, maybe surrounded by mountains. they are over looking the capital and the airport. it's where they are located, far from the civilian provision. -- operation. there are reports of casualties i haven't heard anything about civilians, but it was related to the houthis, because remember they are in control of the capital and those areas, the military bases and so on.

if this campaign goes on further. we'll see civilian casualties. >> i want to come back to you later. the current crisis in yemen can be viewed in terms of competing regional interests. iran has been accused of backing shia houthi proxies. tehran is said to have supplied weapons and logistical support. this irked saudi arabia. they have supported different groups at different times in yemen, including for the former leader and now the president. observers say it is a battle for regional supremacy between saudi arabia, and iran that is playing out in yemen. omar we talked about this earlier, saying how syria had once been thought of as the proxy battle. now it's turned out that it's

yemen. >> yes, absolutely. and that is what happened in yemen, worried the saudis to a large extend. you have saudi arabia borders yemen. there's a massive border with them. north of yemen, it is on the south of saudi arabia. on the other side of the border there is a minority shia population. for the saudis to have an iranian backed group on the border, this is a recipe for disaster. that's why, i think, the saudis took action. some accused them of being late because yemen is under control of the houthis. most parts of the countries were under their control. they are close to controlling aden for the attacks. yes, saudi arabia was really really worried, and the fact that the iranian officials mentioned and hailed the success

of the movement the houthis, that made the saudis very worried. they surrounded them. iran has a big massive control over syria, massive control over iraq and hezbollah, and parts of lebanon. these are areas affecting saudi areas and influence. it was a matter of time before be saw this happen. >> omar al saleh speaking to us now. the white house press secretary spoke about the situation in yemen a little earlier, before the saudi arabia operation in sanaa was announced. >> the united states believes that president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is the legitimate leader of yemen, and we have seen violent efforts on the part of the houthis and others acting in concert with president salah to

foment instability. there are elements of the yemeni government na we are in touch with, that apply efforts to extremists and we have the capability because of the plans and the relationships we have in the region, we do have the capability to take out extremists if they are posing a threat to the united states more from alan fisher from washington d.c. as we see there the u.s. coming to the aid of their arab ally saudi arabia. >> as josh ernst was speaking it's clear something was under way. the americans are not sending air graft, but are supplying logistical support and intelligence, and that is important. and the gulf cooperation council would operate with a great deal of help from the americans particularly in the early stages of the operation.

when they talk about intelligence, you talk about targetting and the stat lights and america had the most comprehensive satellite network in the world. it will tartget the planes to where they need to be. the question about whether or not saudi arabia would be involved in military action. just a few hours ago, at that point jen saki the spokeswoman said it was hypothetical. you. >> we are talking about a hypothetical. obviously, as i mentioned, we believe the saudis have legitimate concerns about the possible impact of current event in yemen on their security and given their proximity. i don't have a prediction for you on what they may or may not do i point you to their government. >> it's no longer hype net call. overnight saut hermes led a

coalition in terms of air strikes on yemen, against the iran backed houthi rebel. this comes at an interesting time if we take the audience to where talks on iran's nuclear negotiations are about to restart. both the u.n.s, the p 5 and iran are hoping to reach an agreement by tuesday over this iran nuclear negotiations. how do you see what happened overnight in yemen affecting the talks in losan. >> you have to remember what the white house said is that they are not after a grand deal with iran it's not about the nuclear programme and everything else that iran may or may not be involved in it's iran and the nuclear programme, and that is all. there'll be those on capitol hill that will be upset about what has happened. it was summed up by someone on

twitter saying the day started with the u.s. backing iranian proxies, in iraq and ends with the u.s. helping others attack iranian proxies in yemen. it's a bizarre position to be in. concern has been expressed. many welcome binyamin netanyahu, a fortnight ago when he warned about the threat from iran everyone that believed what he was involved in saying iran was dangerous, and it's almost as if the united states is siding with saudi arabia as the attack iranian proxies in yemen. the danger is that this becomes a war of the proxies, it's contained geographically politically it's bigger. diplomatically it's bigger. that is the concern for everyone

here in washington. and else where. i am sure over the next few hours there'll be further reaction from the white house, the state department the pentagon. and from many discussing the deal. >> great talking to you, alan fisher speaking from washington d.c. let's stay in washington and let's go to a yemen analyst and research researcher speaking from washington. thank you sama for being with us. if we can take your view on what happened overnight in yemen with the saudi arabia-led coalition airstrakes on yemen's capital sanaa. >> so the air strikes have been happening since 2am yemen time until 6:00a.m. in the morning. a lot of people are waking up

and seeing what is happening, wondering to see whether to send children to school. they have witnessed a bloody week. seems the houthis were targeted by an air strike led by saudi arabia. they targeted a lot of the air bases. the problem now is yes, saudi arabia has targeted a lot of air force bases. however, the houthis when expanding on the ground in yemen expanded without flights. we are worried about their reaction, and there has been reports that three top commanders were targeted. and they were targeted and there were reports of the leader of revolutionary committee, that the houthis put in place.

they targeted the air bases and military camps that belonged to the former president and yemen has been reported as a no-fly zone, and the ports were shut down. recently i had reports about a saudi plane falling in the middle of 15th street 16 street. it's a very important road in yemen, and a lot of people use it to commute. and a lot of people are waking up and they are surprised. >> is there news as to where president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is at the moment. what about his whereabouts. >> until now, we don't know. it may be that he's in djibouti. it's clear that saudi arabia and the allies, ku wait egypt

or pakistan - they are doing this as a response to a request from abd-rabbu mansour hadi. with abd-rabbu mansour hadi out of there, seems they want to weaken the houthis and reinstate him as the leader. if president abd-rabbu mansour hadi is not on the ground. the ar annian peninsula -- arabian peninsula and i.s.i.s. will be stronger. when abd-rabbu mansour hadi goes back to yemen, he'd look like a puppet president and would struggle again considering he is was put into power in 2012 for two years, a transitional time period. it seems the international community wants president abd-rabbu mansour hadi to be an ally, but he'd come back to yemen that is sparse. he would come back to military bases destroyed and would have to start. >> let me stop you there. it's interesting that you said the international community

wants president abd-rabbu mansour hadi to be reinstated. does yemen want president abd-rabbu mansour hadi to return as president. >> when president abd-rabbu mansour hadi came to power, a lot of yemeni people wanted him there. they wanted him led out of devastation and safety. in practice his government failed to deliver services. on several occasions he failed to deliver speeches. seems there's a lack of communication against president abd-rabbu mansour hadi and the people. as long as the connection is not made between the president and the people he'll look as a weaker faction out of all the political players present on the ground. >> at the moment who we have a coalition strike against the houthi rebels in sanaa. what happens next? >> well best case scenario is

that the air strikes would stop. unfortunately, what we here is escalation. seems the saudi arabia intervention is giving room for an iranian response. we see in the middle east we have a saudi arabia iranian proxy war. it's scary to think that yemen could be the ground where saudi arabia and iraq fight face to face. >> thank you samaa al hamadan. researcher speaking to us from washington. a statement has been released reading:

hakim is editor-in-chief of the "post" and is in sanaa and spoke to us earlier via skype. >> dramatics, an hour ago the capital shook. everyone woke up and the attacks happened and everything shook. the airport is tart. houthis tart the headquarters. they gather. anything that belongs to the forces. this is a full-scale war starting an hour ago.

and by morning we'll know the damages. we cannot leave our house because of nightfall, early morning. it will be different. different to how it was an hour ago. >> are the air strikes continuing as we speak. >> they are nonstop. they are at different locations. sanaa in the morning will be different from last night. >> we have confirmed the airport that and targeted the air force force. >> you said they've been targetting the military airport. what about the civilian airport.

they target the airport in areas where they are located. it's not the air force being attacked but military airports located within the military bases. >> does this attack take you by surprise? >> again, everyone in sanaa had to wake up. it began with a massive explosion that shook all the houses of sanaa. people got up and went to the streets, thinking that it wouldn't happen next door while everyone in the capital thought the same thing. it was a heavy explosion to begin with and since then it would not stop. >> i was trying to find out if you expected a strike of this form. that have been hearing for the last few days that the saudi arabia forces have been massing troops along the border. there were no indications whatsoever were there, of air strikes like this. >> there were no indication but

the houthis are using aircraft missiles to ensure the air strikes do not succeed. they took the houthis by surprise, especially on the day, and these attacks did not happen while president abd-rabbu mansour hadi was fleeing or running away but during the nightfall when people and the houthis thought that victory was totally with them was a given. now it's a different scenario, and the houthis have a hard time convincing the yemenis that this war is not their fault. are the air strikes taking place in sanaa from what you understand? as of now, there'd been explosions and gun fire in the streets of aden. there had been attacks. the target now is sanaa.

>> people must be panicking, is there anywhere for them to flee to get cover? >> most are trying to find a basement and a place to harbour, to keep the children safe. people are starting to panic. like the damages or the destruction, then people are seen panicking. >> a member of the houthi council says that will trigger a war in the region. i do expect the houthis within this week to invade saudi arabia. that is what the officials informed us is if saudi arabia intervenes, the houthis will attack invade saudi arabia. this will be a long war. it's not over today. it's not a one-day success. saudi arabia from my experience will see a lot devastation because of the houthis,

militants able to defeat president abd-rabbu mansour hadi within hours, will have a hard time but they are insistent they have the manpower to do so. >> the saudis say they want the houthis to take part in the political process, won't this push them into doing that? >> anything is possible. as of now. the houthis - we have to forget the idea of dialogue. doesn't make sense that you bombard a nation. now the houthis have a clear reason why there should not be dialogue. i was hopeful before that the houthis would be involved. for now, this is the beginning of the war. if you joined us let me recap what happened overnight, a saudi arabia-led coalition began a military operation in yemen, with air strikes targetting houthi fighters.

several key places including the presidential palace and police headquarters have been hit. what we know so far is houthi fv in yemen said 10 people have been killed in the air strikes. let's get more from robert gren yair, a former counterterrorism official at the c.i.a. joining us from washington d.c. was this military operation inevitable. was there no other option left for saudi arabia. >> well of course, they weren't inevitable. one of the prime drivers for the saudis is the concern about the iranian influence. my opinion is they exaggerated the influence of the iranians. whether we talk about east of

bahrain, in iraq syria or elsewhere. this is the prism through which the saudis tend to view a situation like we see in yemen. i don't think it was necessary to take the action that they have. i don't think that they are seeing the political jockeying inside yemen in a realistic light, and this is their primary motivation and i think that they felt there was something they needed to do at a point when the houthis and the forces allied with them in the yemeni military were consolidating a hold over significant parts, the major parts of the country. >> that being the case from grenier, a senior houthi rebel said the air strikes will trigger a wider war. what is the regional