Earlier today Al Masdar News ran a story that caught my eye. If true, it was an acknowledgement by the Saudis that it was the Houthis who droned the shit out of their oil facility and were clearly capable doing it again.

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BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:10 P.M.) – The Houthi Movement (var. Ansarallah Movement) announced on Friday that they are halting their missiles strikes on Saudi Arabia after the Gulf kingdom offered them a peace deal. According to the Houthi Movement, the Saudi Coalition offered to halt their airstrikes over Yemen in exchange for the halting of all Houthi missile strikes.

This announcement from the Yemeni group comes just days after the Houthi forces bombed one of the largest Saudi Aramco oil facilities inside Saudi Arabia. (AMN)

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However, no other news agency has repeated the line about the Saudis offering a peace deal. All other accounts speak of a Houthi offering of a mutual ceasefire in the air war. The Almasirah Media Network, a Yemeni TV channel affiliated with the Houthi Movement, ran the following story concerning the peace offer.

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Follow - ups September 20 | In a speech marking the fifth anniversary of the September 21 revolution, President of the Supreme Political Council Mehdi Mashat launched a peace initiative in which he called on all parties from all sides of the war to seriously engage in serious and genuine negotiations leading to comprehensive national reconciliation that does not exclude anyone from injecting blood. In the interest of the remaining bonds of brotherhood and to overcome the higher national interests.

He announced the cessation of the targeting of Saudi territory by flying planes, ballistic missiles, wings and all forms of targeting. "We are waiting for the same or better greetings in a similar announcement to stop all forms of targeting and aerial bombardment of our Yemeni territory and reserve the right to respond if this initiative is not met," he said. (Google translation)

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Did Al Masdar get it wrong? Perhaps the Saudis are trying to keep any ceasefire offer on the down low. They have demonstrated that the very idea that the Houthis carried out the successful strike on Aramco facility is beyond embarrassing. They are loath to admit it and offering peace to the Houthis is doing just that. How can those uncouth hill people do such a thing to the royal sheiks, the guardians of Mecca? We’ll have to see what happens next. Will there be an unannounced lull in the Saudi air campaign against the Houthis or will there be another Houthi drone strike on a Saudi target. In my opinion it could go either way.

TTG

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-houthis-to-halt-missile-strikes-after-saudi-arabia-offers-peace-deal/

https://www.almasirah.net/details.php?es_id=45095&cat_id=3