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DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,

The STC, which Saudi Arabia says is backed by the UAE, launched an offensive against Yemeni gov’t troops in December.

Yemen’s main southern separatists ‍have decided to disband following talks in Saudi Arabia, the secretary-general of the organisation has announced.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) Secretary-General Abdulrahman Al-Subaihi said in a broadcast on Yemeni television on Friday that the dissolution of the group was taken to preserve peace and security in the south and in neighbouring countries.

He praised “the measures taken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the solutions it has provided that meet the needs of the people of the South”.

However, there was no immediate ‍comment from those members of the separatist group who are not taking part in the ‍talks in Riyadh.

The STC had said it had lost contact with all members ‍of the delegation in Riyadh, indicating a split was emerging within the group.

A feud between Saudi Arabia and the UAE that came to light after the STC, which Riyadh says is backed by Abu Dhabi, launched an offensive against Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops in December.

On Thursday, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen said the STC leader Aidarous ‌al-Zubaidi had fled to the UAE via Somaliland after skipping the talks in Riyadh, accusing the UAE of smuggling him out of the country.

More to come…

Months after being attacked by the United States and Israel, Iran finds itself in the crosshairs again, with Israeli officials lobbying US President Donald Trump to address Tehran’s ballistic missiles.

Veteran Iranian diplomat Javad Zarif tells host Steve Clemons that “everybody lost any faith in diplomacy” after Israel and the US attacked Iran following five rounds of reconciliation talks between Washington and Tehran.

Zarif added that Israel has historically thwarted every opportunity for reconciliation between Iran and the US, and that Trump’s style of diplomacy is disastrous, as it creates “negotiations that end up in war”.