Nima Alkhorshid says Ansarallah has captured Jabal Han, a strategic mountain in the encirclement of Taizz, and that the siege is closing on Saudi-backed forces in a city of at least two million people. Pepe Escobar says a Najran tribal delegation pledged allegiance in Sanaa, and that Sergei Lavrov went to Tehran before Munir.
Description:
On this episode of The Target, Robert Inlakesh breaks down how Yemen’s acquisition of modern Iranian Khaibar Shekan missiles to strike Tel Aviv & the IRGC’s new missile strategy has completely destroyed the U.S.-Israeli strike plan. All as Washington issues warning to 11 embassies across the region that escalation may be imminent.
Plus, we cover a Saudi helicopter shot down near the Yemeni border, mysterious fires at UAE oil sites in the Strait of Hormuz, and the massive escalation of missile strikes on Saudi Arabia while Riyadh continues its horrific civilian massacres in Yemen, with the city of Taiz suffering the most casualties. Also, we debunk the mainstream media propaganda, & disinformation being spread in the alternative media, regarding Yemen.
The corporate media is completely silent on the massive escalation in the Middle East, but we aren't.
Description:
Trump said Russia was doing “very little, if anything” to help Iran. Today Sergey Lavrov sat beside Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson asks whether that was a coincidence — and host Zulfiqar Ali’s Pakistani and Turkish contacts say the leader who is really on his own is MBS.
— 09:29 Lavrov in Tehran: “You think that was just a coincidence?” — 19:55 MBS on his own: why Pakistan and Turkey have cut their support, per our host’s contacts — and China’s position.— 30:48 “There are no good military options”: Trump’s only way out, according to Larry Johnson.
What you’ll learn: why Lavrov’s visit contradicts Trump’s claim about Russia · why Pakistan’s border “closure” is two gates, not the border · what our host’s sources say about MBS, Pakistan, Turkey and China · why Iran wants the Islamabad MOU, not the JCPOA · what Johnson expects before the 3 November election.
Sourcing note: The reports on Pakistan’s and Turkey’s support for MBS, on China’s position, on sea traffic through Gwadar and on US helicopters off Pakistan’s coast are our host’s own sourcing and cannot be independently verified. Johnson’s report of a Quantico meeting of senior officers on 20 October had not been publicly reported at the time of publishing.
Public record: Lavrov met Araghchi in Tehran on 19 October and said Russia is committed to its 20-year strategic partnership with Iran; Pakistan suspended trade at the Taftan and Gabd crossings (18 October; some reports say four crossings) and Iran’s foreign ministry cited “technical issues”; Trump said on 16 October that “Israel’s been very helpful to Saudi Arabia”; IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Zarifi was killed in Saravan on 24 September; Pakistan’s information ministry on 18 October called claims that the US Navy operates from Pakistani territory against Iran “baseless”.
Nima Alkhorshid reads Iran's foreign minister answering Donald Trump's endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu and the claim they will finish the job, then an IRGC brigadier general who said a MOAB strike on Iran would be answered with a father of missiles Iran has not used yet. Larry Wilkerson calls that talk a path toward another round of war, likelier after the November 3 election than before it, and says Egypt's President Sisi would be unwise to send troops to Yemen after Tehran warned of consequences.
Description:
Pakistani military sources say Pakistani naval aircraft warned US helicopters away from the coast off Karachi. The same weekend, trade across the Iran–Pakistan land border crossings was halted — and our host’s sources say Iran has 400 targets locked, many of them in Israel. Zulfiqar Ali brings both accounts, checked in Islamabad and Tehran; Pepe Escobar, from Bangkok after midnight, brings the dollar-bypass talks the closure interrupted — and the one country whose cargo still crosses.
— 07:57 The Black Hawk encounter, per Pakistani military sources.
— 16:30 Except China: the cargo that still crosses, per our host’s sources.
— 27:17 Iran’s 400 locked targets: the warning our host’s sources relayed.
What you’ll learn: why Pakistan and Iran suspended trade at their border, and what officials on both sides say it was for · whether Washington pressured Islamabad — and the answer our host was given · what the US Navy is doing off Pakistan’s coast · why Chinese cargo is still moving · where Iran stands on the Mecca defence pact · what Egypt and the OIC are doing about Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen.
Sourcing note: The Black Hawk encounter, the Chinese-cargo exemption, the saboteur arrests and the position of US naval assets are our host’s own sourcing from Pakistani military, naval and coastal officials and cannot be independently verified; we found no public report of the encounter. “3 nautical miles” is the distance as reported to our host; Pakistan’s territorial sea extends 12 nautical miles, and the host says the helicopters did not enter Pakistani territory.
A Pakistani brigadier told our host the detained saboteurs were financed by the UAE; that is one officer’s allegation and has not been independently verified. The 3,000-truck figure and its banking cause are Pepe Escobar’s information.
Public record: Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce suspended trade through the Taftan and Gabd-Rimdan crossings (memo of 16 October, announced 17 October); Pakistani officials cited security, counterterrorism and smuggling and said the border is likely to reopen soon; Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman called the closure temporary and cited “technical issues”; more than 2,000 containers were reported stranded at Gabd-Rimdan, while passenger traffic continued at Gabd-Rimdan.
The 400 locked targets are our host’s sourcing and cannot be independently verified. The Iran–Pakistan central bank meeting is Escobar’s reporting; the IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings ran in Bangkok on 12–18 October. Iran’s interest in the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is contested: our host’s sources say Iran has expressed interest; Escobar says it is not being discussed in Tehran; Iran’s foreign ministry said in August it had received no formal invitation.
Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi of Tehran University, a former advisor to Iran's nuclear negotiation team, talks with Glenn Diesen about whether Egypt may join the Saudi war and about a wider war coming.
Description:
Robert Inlakesh, on The Target, says a report counts at least 135 Iranian strikes on Gulf infrastructure, and that the White House played them down. He also covers a Pentagon threat to use the MOAB, a covert Arab-Israeli alignment, Israeli warnings to Hezbollah, a Yemeni strike on Saudi-backed targets, and Ansarallah gains in Taiz.
Riyadh called Beijing. Trump called Putin for diesel. Nobody's coming to save Saudi Arabia — except 110 Americans.
("110 Americans in the Saudi war room" is per Transition Protocol's Pakistani military sources.) Here is why nobody is coming, what Beijing will actually do, and what the Russian diesel deal is really for — from a man who has lived in Beijing for almost three decades.
Einar Tangen joins host Zulfiqar Ali from Beijing as Houthi missiles hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport again.
Riyadh's calls: according to Transition Protocol's Pakistani military sources, 110 Americans were in the Saudi war room during the bombardment of Ansar Allah positions, even as Trump told Riyadh he wanted no new war. Pakistan will guard the holy sites only.
Beijing's answer: "very little," in Tangen's assessment — China will police dual-use parts flowing to the Houthis, will not arm anyone, and cannot project force from its single base in Djibouti. Reuters reported on 17 September that Saudi Arabia appealed to Beijing and that China privately urged Iran to rein in the Houthis.
Iran's choice: our sources say Tehran told Pakistani mediators it would not restrain the Houthis — it wanted Saudi losses.
The October surprise: why the Russian diesel deal (1.8 million tonnes from October to December) covers only days of US demand, and what Tangen thinks it is really for.
A gateway to a wider war? "Unfortunately, I do." And two ways this ends.
Sourcing note: "110 Americans" and the Iran–Pakistan exchange are the host's own reporting from Pakistani sources. Tangen's remark about discussions of tactical nuclear weapons has not been independently confirmed. On air, a figure of "510 to 525 million tons" of daily US diesel use is a misstatement; the US uses roughly half a million tonnes of distillate a day (EIA).
Larry Johnson on reports that Yemeni forces struck two Aramco headquarters in Saudi Arabia and published footage of a hit on a Saudi Typhoon, described as the second fighter jet after an F-15. He also recounts speaking at a Russian-chaired UN Security Council session in New York on civilian casualties in Ukraine, and says the US tone toward Russia has softened.
Has Iran just leaked US-Israeli war plans, which according to Iranian intel, could be carried at any moment? Fmr CIA analyst Larry Johnson and retired US Army Colonel and Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson react to a bombshell report that details the deep war preparations of Trump and Netanyahu when no one was watching, and give expert insights into the Yemen-Saudi war that cannot be ignored as Middle East oil comes under massive crisis.
Description:
MBS is reportedly moving between bunkers as the Houthis push deeper into Yemen and warn Saudi civilians to evacuate oil installations. In this episode we break down why no ally will send ground troops, why Iran's mediation offer is a nonstarter, and why Trump faces enormous pressure to intervene despite Houthi warnings to stay out, before turning to Andy Burnham blaming Iran for the RAF Fairford incident. Is Saudi Arabia running out of options, and is Burnham turning out to be even worse than Starmer?
The Duran: Episode 2648
00:00:00 MBS in hiding as the Houthis advance in Yemen
00:00:50 No allies willing: Pakistan, Turkey and Syria say no
00:01:11 Houthis warn Saudis to evacuate oil installations
00:02:27 Riyadh airport strikes and Iran's offer to mediate
00:03:47 Why MBS can't send the Saudi army into Yemen
00:05:14 Putin, the UAE and Russian mediation
00:05:46 Houthis warn the US to stay out
00:07:08 Can Trump resist the pressure to intervene?
00:09:50 Burnham blames Iran for the RAF Fairford incident
00:11:26 Brexit, Russia and what Burnham is really doing
Description:
Vijay Prashad, speaking from Beijing, says Yemen’s Ansar Allah now covers the Bab al-Mandab (Arabic for “Gate of Tears”) while the Strait of Hormuz remains restricted — leaving Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states, he says, with no easy way out.
Status check: control of Mocha is contested. The Houthis seized the port city in September; Yemen’s government said on 5 October that it had retaken it, which Al Jazeera could not verify, and a Houthi spokesman denied it on 6 October. Prashad calls it “still contested”. Mayyun (Perim) Island is Prashad’s account; we could not confirm a change of control.
Host Zulfiqar Ali speaks with Prashad about what Beijing is seeing: the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab, the strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Iran–Saudi contacts that Beijing’s dialogue made possible, why he says Ansar Allah is “not a proxy of Iran”, and Xi Jinping’s proposed table for Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
What you’ll learn: why Prashad says the Gulf’s two sea exits are both in other hands · what he says Ansar Allah gained at Mocha · why he argues Iran “does not speak for the Yemenis” · what he says the Iran–Saudi channel achieved · why Iran, he says, wants the Mecca pact left alone · why he asks whether Yemen could “collect” at the Bab al-Mandab as Iran does at Hormuz · what he expects from a Xi-hosted Trump–Putin meeting.
