(image: Official Seal of the Gulf Cooperation Council)
From Reuters:
Arabia and Gulf region allies launched military operations including air strikes in Yemen on Thursday, officials said, to counter Iran-allied forces besieging the southern city of Aden where the U.S.-backed Yemeni president had taken refuge.
Gulf broadcaster al-Arabiya TV reported that the kingdom was contributing as many as 150,000 troops and 100 warplanes to the operations and that Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Pakistan were ready to take part in a ground offensive in Yemen.
There was no immediate confirmation of those figures from Riyadh. Al-Arabiya also said planes from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain were taking part in the operation.
...
The White House said in a statement late on Wednesday the United States supported the operation, led by the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and that President Barack Obama had authorized U.S. "logistical and intelligence support".
(my bold)
http://www.reuters.com/...
Update 1:
Interesting development from MSNBC:
Iran quickly condemned the airstrikes launched by Saudi Arabia and its allies as "very dangerous" for the region.
"Many innocent people were killed," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marziyeh Afgam said in a statement. "Regional governments should show respect to each other and peacefully resolve matters."
http://www.nbcnews.com/...
Iran sounds upset, but not "let's scuttle the nuke talks" upset. Here's hoping we can thread that needle.
Update 2:
A tweet from @AlOraibi:
UK on statement on Yemen frm FCO: We support the Saudi Arabian military intervention in Yemen following President Hadi’s request for support
Update 3: 9:34am EDT
A tweet from @Tcaboche:
France reaffirms its support to President Hadi and condemns the Houthis' destabilizing actions @francediplo_EN