The Houthis: a snake in the saucepan for Saudi Arabia.

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In my language, there is a saying that goes: Semusota gwa'muntamu...   This   saying is about a difficult situation where one finds a live snake in his cooking pot. If they hit it, they don't cook as the the pot will be dirtened by the remains of the snake or even get broken. And yet, if they don't hit the snake, they still won't cook because there is no way one can use a pot when there is a snake breathing inside it.  This saying is used to describe a hard situation where one has very few options, and this seems to be the case with Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. The Houthis, officially known as  Ansar Allah , are a Zaydi Shia political and military organization that controls large parts of Yemen, including the capital city of Sanaa.  The group started in the 1990s in northern Yemen as a religious and cultural revival movement for the Zaydi Shia minority, led by the A l-Houthi family . [ 1 ,  2 ]  After years of local insurgencies, the Houthis...
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The "Keibar Shekan": The Castle breaker!

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The Keibar Shekan (meaning "Castle Breaker") is an Iranian medium-range, solid-fuel ballistic missile introduced in 2022. 

It is known for its high mobility, satellite guidance and maneuverable re-entry vehicle designed to evade air defense systems.

It has a range of approximately 1,450 to 1,500 kilometers (around 900 miles). [1, 2,]

This missile carries a 550 kg high-explosive. 
It is 11.4 meters long and weighs roughly 4.5 tons. 
It is launched on a Road-mobile launcher, requiring under 15 minutes to prepare and fire [1, 2,]
Strategic Impact Of The  Keibar Shekan.
Evasion Capabilities: The missile features terminal-phase maneuverability and movable fins to adjust flight paths, designed to confuse and bypass advanced interceptor shields. [1,]
Cost Discrepancy: The Keibar Shekan is cost-effective to produce, yet it has the capacity to pierce through the multi-million-dollar interceptor batteries (such as Patriot or THAAD). [1]
Name Origin. 
Its name references the historical 7th-century Battle of Khaybar. [1]
      Picture of the Keibar Shekan missile. 

Iran named its medium-range ballistic missile Kheibar Shekan (meaning "Kheibar Breaker") to evoke the historic 7th-century "Battle of Kyabar", carrying deep religious and ideological symbolism aimed at signaling its capacity to pierce through fortified enemy defenses. [ 3]

The Battle of Khaybar is the 628 CE campaign where early Islamic forces led by Prophet Muhammad and his cousin Ali bin Abi Talib overcame the heavily fortified Jewish strongholds at Khaybar in Arabia. [2]

Imam Ali's Role: In Shia-majority Iran, Imam Ali holds immense religious reverence, and recalling his legendary breakthrough of the Khaybar fortresses elevates the weapon's symbolic value. [1]
Strategic Messaging
Ideological Framing: By using the name, Tehran frames its modern standoff and conflicts with regional adversaries like Israel in historical, ideological terms. [1, 2]
Defensive Breakthrough: The moniker "Castle Breaker" or "Fortress Buster" metaphorically highlights the solid-fuel missile's technical design purpose: to smash through modern, high-tech air defense systems. [1, 3]
During recent conflicts, the Iranian Kheibar Shekan medium-range ballistic missile proved highly effective as an asymmetric weapon.
Costing roughly $1 million per unit, it successfully strained expensive U.S. and allied air defense networks (such as Patriot and THAAD) by utilizing solid-fuel rapid mobility, complex mixed trajectories, and maneuverable re-entry warheads to pierce layered regional defenses.     [3, 4,]
Heavy Impact on U.S. and Coalition Bases.
Ali Al Salem Air Base (Kuwait): This base suffered some of the most intensive damage from repeat strikes, affecting hangars, structures, and satellite communications infrastructure. [1, 2]
Camp Arifjan (Kuwait):  It sustained direct impacts that damaged key logistics hubs, ammunition storage, and radar domes. [2, 3]
Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar): The largest regional U.S. facility sustained structural damage and impacts near critical early-warning radar systems. [1, 2, 3]
Prince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia): This base recorded structural and radar-adjacent damage during multi-wave missile engagements.    [1, 2]
Sheikh Isa Air Base / Bahrain Facilities (Bahrain): It was struck during regional retaliatory salvos from Iran, targeting U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet support infrastructure. [1, 2]
The Keibar Shekan, is indeed a Castle breaker!
It sent the mighty U.S and its rowdy daughter Israel, running back to enonomic war against Iran. The military campaign miserably failed.

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