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January 8th, 2016 
Awake Goy 
nsnbc : Arab Foreign Ministers convene in the Egyptian capital Cairo to discuss the situation in Yemen. The situation in Yemen has gained new attention after the eruption of diplomatic rows between several Arab countries and Iran after Iran’s execution of the prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
A Yemeni delegation arrived in Cairo Friday morning, reports Rany Mostafa for The Cairo Post. The Yemeni delegation, chaired by Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel Malak al-Mekhlafi, is scheduled to meet with high-ranking Egyptian officials before taking part in an extraordinary session of Arab foreign Ministers on Sunday to discuss tensions between some Arab countries and Iran.
Tensions between Iran and Iraq on one hand and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, as well as Somalia and others escalated after Saudi Arabia executed the prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 others and the trashing of pats of Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran by outraged protesters.
The Yemeni delegation will stay in Egypt for five days. The Egyptian government’s position with regard to the tensions between Iran and its Arab neighbors was generally one that encouraged a de-escalation of the diplomatic crisis.
Egypt is in many regards in a quagmire with regard to the conflict in Yemen. While Egypt is one of the nine members of the Yemeni / Saudi – led coalition against Houthi rebels in Yemen it has largely limited its participation in the conflict to diplomatic initiatives and military initiatives that aim at protecting Egypt’s national security interests.
Bab Al-Mandeb Strai
Cairo perceives any conflict, and especially a conflict that may endanger shipping in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait as a potential threat to Egypt’s national security and economic stability.
The conflict in Yemen confronts the Egyptian government and security experts with a multi-faceted challenge. Cairo perceives the possibility that Iranian-backed Houthi rebels may become able to threaten shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait – the entrance to the Suez Canal – as an existential threat.
Cairo does, on the other hand, also perceive the involvement of covertly and in part overtly Saudi-backed Al-Qaeda elements in Yemen as equally threatening. Cairo is also ware of the fact that an increased risk for conflict involving the Arab / Persian Gulf will increase the strategic importance of the Suez Canal and its entrances, as well as foreign attention to Cairo and the Canal.
CH/ – nsnbc 08.01.2015
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/01/08/arab-foreign-ministers-convene-in-cairo-to-discuss-yemen-and-iran/
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