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Iona Craig

@ionacraig.com
2.8K followers 705 following 357 posts

Journalist + OSINT airstrikes data @yemendataproject.org Mostly Yemen/Arabian Peninsula since 2010. Once-upon-a-time I trained racehorses. www.ionacraig.com www.patreon.com/ionacraig linktr.ee/ionacraig

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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 4h
Londoners, I'll be chairing this event next week at the Frontline Club. Join us for a conversation about reporting beyond the news cycle, the ethics and intimacy of telling other people’s stories and the challenge of preserving individual lives within a humanitarian crisis of enormous scale. Link 👇
A flyer for an event at London's Frontline Club on Tuesday October 6th at 7pm. "Reporting on the Syrian Refugee Crisis"
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 26/09/2026
In a previous life… Although not as good a story as a year later in Australia, the shenanigans behind getting Excellerator to the Magic Millions (which he also won). Dick Francis would’ve been proud of that one. www.racingpost.com/news/people/...
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 26/09/2026
Journalists at @declassifieduk.org have been banned from the Labour party conference for a third year in a row. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
theguardian.com
Labour rejects Declassified journalists from party conference for third year – as it happened
The media organisation reports that three of its journalists were denied media passes
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Declassified UK @declassifieduk.org · 23/09/2026
👉NEW -- What the media isn’t telling you about Burnham’s support for Saudi Arabia by @ionacraig.com ‘Defensive’ refuelling of planes bombing Yemen can still cause war crimes. Just ask Keir Starmer www.declassifieduk.org/what-the-med...
declassifieduk.org
What the media isn’t telling you about Burnham’s support for Saudi Arabia
‘Defensive’ refuelling of planes bombing Yemen can still cause war crimes. Just ask Keir Starmer
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 25/09/2026
Earlier this week I sat down with CBC's Front Burner podcast for an explainer on how we got to where we are today in Yemen and the current state of play. If you’re not sure about what’s been happening in Yemen in recent days and why, this might be helpful. www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...
cbc.ca
How did the Houthis become so powerful? | Front Burner | CBC Podcasts | CBC Listen
On Sunday it looked like the United States was about to wade back into its fight with Ansar Allah, or the Houthis, the Iran-backed group in Yemen that has grown into a surprisingly powerful military p...
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 24/09/2026
Houthi official told me this morning: “Should Britain become involved in the aggression against Yemen in any form, it will bear the consequences, as Yemen will respond in a manner commensurate with the scale and nature of that involvement.” www.declassifieduk.org/what-the-med...
declassifieduk.org
What the media isn’t telling you about Burnham’s support for Saudi Arabia
‘Defensive’ refuelling of planes bombing Yemen can still cause war crimes. Just ask Keir Starmer
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 23/09/2026
Filling in the blanks left by the media coverage of Andy Burnham’s decision to provide RAF refuelling support to Saudi Arabia for its latest war in Yemen.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 22/09/2026
And let’s not forget, that “defensive support” for Trump’s air war ended in RAF fighter jets carrying out direct strikes in Yemen.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 21/09/2026
“Defensive air to air refuelling” Burnham has confirmed the UK will provide to Saudi for airstrikes in Yemen was the same line used to aid Trump’s bombing of Yemen. That “support” facilitated a strike the US says ‘likely’ killed 80 civilians. How many more civilians will the British support killing?
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 21/09/2026
And this explains exactly why Britain shouldn’t be facilitating someone else’s air war. bsky.app/profile/iona...
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 21/09/2026
The UK is reportedly close to agreeing to provide Saudi Arabia’s military with operational support to counter the Houthis, and will lobby other nations to help. “it could include things like aerial refuelling” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
UK Close to Helping Saudi Arabia Counter Houthi Attacks
The UK is close to agreeing to support Saudi Arabia’s military in countering the Houthis, as the kingdom comes under frequent attack from the Iran-backed militants.
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Michael @therightarticle.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Proposal for windfall tax on UK arms firms that fuelled Saudi war crimes in Yemen www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2026/09/21…
thecanary.co
Proposal for windfall tax on UK arms firms that fuelled Saudi war crimes in Yemen
BAE Systems and Rolls Royce made an estimated £3.9bn in profit from arming the 2015-22 Saudi-led intervention in Yemen.
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Human Rights Watch @hrw.org · 15/09/2026
The Houthis’ latest attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden most likely amount to war crimes in at least 3 cases. The Houthis are again putting seafarers’ lives at risk through their attacks on commercial ships, this time as part of hostilities with the Saudi-led coalition.
hrw.org
Yemen: New Attacks by Houthi Include Likely War Crimes
The Houthis’ latest attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden most likely amount to war crimes in at least three cases.
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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
New report out today co-authored by me and colleagues at @caatuk.bsky.social and @transitionsec.bsky.social We call for Britain to pay reparations to the Yemeni people for its complicity in Saudi war crimes and IHL violations during the 2015-22 intervention. caat.org.uk/publications...
caat.org.uk
CAAT - Reparations for Yemen – a proposal for a windfall tax on British arms companies that enabled Saudi war crimes
This report, jointly published by CAAT and the Transition Security Project, argues that Britain should pay reparations to the people of Yemen for its role in crimes committed against them by Saudi Ara...
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Chairman Moët @chairmanmoet.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This was very good and answered some questions I haven't seen addressed elsewhere
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Richard Haviland @rfhaviland.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is excellent and covers a great deal of ground - from what the latest developments in Yemen mean for us all, to the UK’s complicity in civilian deaths in Yemen, which I’ve not seen or heard reported before.
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Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Thanks to Trump’s failed war, Iran controls the Gulf and its ally the Houthis now control the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia now faces economic crisis, further driving global inflation. The endless consequences of a stupid war continue to mount. I spoke to @ionacraig.com podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com
The Houthis Strike Back - Iona Craig on the Red Sea and the Crisis in World Energy Markets
Podcast Episode · Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell · 17 September · 50min
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Naomi Smith @pimlicat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Cooler Heads bringing you not one but two fab episodes today! This one analysing the impact of Houthi activity against Saudi Arabia.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 17/09/2026
Going beyond the usual 4min 30secs allowed by broadcast channels to talk about Yemen, it was good to sit down with @snellarthur.bsky.social and dig into the details of what's happening in Yemen, the Arabian Peninsula and beyond.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 16/09/2026
Britain has no mechanism for assessing civilian harm. But reporting on casualties released by the Pentagon last month, combined with flight radar info I gathered on RAF flights last year, reveals Britain is complicit in the killing of 80 civilians in one of the worst strikes ever recorded in Yemen.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 11/09/2026
Dropped in at the old place…
A screenshot of an post from X. It reads: You know it’s been spicy when you hear Iona Craig on BBC.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 11/09/2026
Writing for @dropsitenews.com on today’s Houthi takeover of the Bab al-Mandab. www.dropsitenews.com/p/ansarallah...
dropsitenews.com
How Ansarallah Swept Past Saudi-Backed Forces to Control Yemen’s Red Sea Coast
A lack of cohesion among Saudi-backed forces helped pave the way for Ansarallah to seize the entirety of Yemen’s Red Sea Coast and control the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 11/09/2026
During yesterday’s rapid collapse of Saudi-backed forces in the face of the Houthi advance south, MbS called Trump twice yesterday pleading for US airstrikes against the Houthis. www.axios.com/2026/09/11/h...
axios.com
Saudi crown prince urged Trump to strike Houthis amid Red Sea threat
Trump declined, and U.S. officials stressed he has no plans to intervene directly against the Houthis for now.
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Betty Malcolm @nechesaachiro.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Insightful short video of how the war affects day to day life told through the eyes of a 9-yr old.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 07/09/2026
Yemeni government forces launched offensives on multiple fronts across four governorates this morning, making notable gains against the Houthis in Al-Jawf.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 07/09/2026
More than 100 Al-Sabiha (anti-Houthi) fighters reportedly killed in the last 24hrs. The Houthis seized the 55th Mechanized Brigade, capturing more than 300 fighters inside. Houthis are closing in on strategically important Birin, which would cut off Mocha supply lines. www.afp.com/en/toll-yeme...
afp.com
Toll from Yemen clashes passes 300 as civilians flee homes
The toll from days of fighting between government forces and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in southwest Yemen climbed past 300 on Sunday, as hundreds of families fled...
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Ms AB @justagalandadog.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
watch this #Yemen
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Eileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
An exquisitely shot and composed six minutes. These mountains are stunning, the rocky landscape beyond daunting for traversing. A very small boy narrates his entire trip to a market to buy his family's food. Hearing and seeing it from the little one's P.O.V. is captivating. Brava, @ionacraig.com!
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 04/09/2026
Doing interviews today on the ongoing fighting in Taiz reminds me of one of many visits there. I shot this video several years ago in the Taiz mountains. It shows the nature of the terrain currently being fought over. More importantly, it illustrates the civilian impact. substack.com/@ionacraig/n...
substack.com
Taiz: Life behind the frontlines in Yemen’s mountains
The experience of civil war in Yemen from the perspective of nine-year-old Ahmed, living in the rural highlands of Taiz.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 28/07/2026
Yemen’s Houthis claim a third attack this week on a vessel. This time it was a Saudi-flagged oil tanker, the NCC GHAZAL. (Translation in image ALT text)
Translation of a clip of a Houthi statement written in Arabic. 

The Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal for violating the maritime embargo imposed on the Saudi enemy and ignoring warning calls. The tanker was engaged with several ballistic missiles and, by the grace of God, forced to retreat and return.

The Armed Forces affirm their continued commitment to enforcing the maritime embargo on the Saudi enemy, adhering to the principle of responding to blockade with blockade and comprehensive escalation with comprehensive escalation
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 26/07/2026
Human Rights Watch recorded systematic violations against Yemeni journalists, including killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and other ill-treatment. www.hrw.org/news/2026/07...
hrw.org
End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists in Yemen
Journalist Muhammad Aidha, who had reported for the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya and Al Hadath channels since 2019, was killed in Mukalla in eastern Yemen on June 24 by an explosive device planted in his ca...
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 23/07/2026
Iran-backed Houthis attack two Saudi Arabian oil tankers ft.trib.al/az2VVrO
ft.trib.al
Iran-backed Houthis attack two Saudi Arabian oil tankers
Brent prices rise after Yemeni rebels say they hit the Encelia and the Layla
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 21/07/2026
And so it begins.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 20/07/2026
As I reported for @dropsitenews.com last week, today the Houthi naval forces have started ordering Saudi-bound vessels in the Red Sea to turn back, warning of military action if the order is ignored. www.dropsitenews.com/p/yemen-sana...
dropsitenews.com
Ansarallah Vows to Block Saudi Access to Bab al-Mandab After Strikes on Sana’a
The first Saudi airstrikes against Ansarallah in four years threaten to upend their tenuous ceasefire, just as the truce between the U.S. and Iran is crumbling over the Strait of Hormuz.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 13/07/2026
In-bound flights to Aden airport are now being diverted. It seems mostly to Djibouti. It's a fragile moment waiting to see how the Houthis respond to these strikes. We could well see a sudden escalation before mediation for political and economic gains.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 25/06/2026
Reporter for Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya TV killed by car bomb in Yemen reut.rs/4uU0iKk
reut.rs
Reporter for Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya TV killed by car bomb in Yemen
A correspondent ​for Saudi Arabia's Al Arabiya television in Yemen was killed ‌when a bomb planted on his car exploded, the network said on Thursday.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 24/06/2026
A journalist working for Saudi’s Al Arabiya channel, Mohammed Aydha, was assassinated in Mukalla, Yemen this evening. Killed by an apparent IED in his car. Dark days are returning to Yemen when journalists are once again being murdered for doing their jobs.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 28/05/2026
“The UAE has profited from short-term plunder thinking it was creating long-term allies. This death spiral has nothing to offer the region.”
Text quote from Jacobean article about the United Arab Emirates linked to below
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 28/05/2026
Part 2 of Stefan Bakumenko’s excellent analysis of decades of UAE imperialism. This is the best and most comprehensive breakdown of toxic Emirati foreign intervention I’ve come across. It’s worth your time. jacobin.com/2026/05/uae-...
jacobin.com
How the UAE Built an Empire of Kleptocrats
From Libya to Yemen and Palestine to Sudan, the United Arab Emirates has built a regional network of militias, autocrats, and oligarchs that perpetuate violence for power and profit.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 16/05/2026
“As a result, the DoW may not comply with its civilian casualties and harm policy,” the report read. “A policy required by federal law.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Pentagon quietly shut legally required program to prevent civilian deaths by military, watchdog finds
Trump administration accused of cutting military’s civilian harm program in light of US strike on girls school in Iran
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Yemen Data Project @handle.invalid · 30/04/2026
"When it comes to the Trump administration’s neglect for civilian harm, experts say Yemen was the canary in the coal mine."
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The Centre for Investigative Journalism @tcij.org · 22/04/2026
Donate to the CIJ via @biggive.bsky.social #EarthRaise Campaign today and help us train journalists at the forefront of the climate crisis. 🚨 Link ⬇️⬇️⬇️ donate.biggive.org/campaign/a05... 🗓️ For one week only: Wed 22 April to Wed 29 April all your donations will be doubled!! /1
donate.biggive.org
Open Climate Reporting Initiative (OCRI) – Big Give
OCRI is dedicated to raising the standard of investigative journalism on the climate crisis across the world. Since 2021 we've …
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Rima I Anabtawi @rimaanabtawi.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"Of the more than 700 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire over the six months of the ceasefire, 269 were shot near the yellow line, according to UN data. Of these, more than 100 were children." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Gaza’s yellow line creeps forward as Israeli forces expand zone of control
Residents waking to find line has moved overnight and they are now in free-fire zone as army takes more territory
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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Zeynab Faraj, the Lebanese journalist who survived yesterday’s Israeli strike that killed her colleague Amal Khalil, is interviewed in hospital www.instagram.com/reel/DXeAK5A... What Israel does to journalists
Zeynab Faraj in hospital
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Yemen Data Project @handle.invalid · 16/04/2026
We took a look at the significant underreporting of US counter terrorism strikes in Yemen. YDP's list of 21 US drone strikes since Jan.2025 is 4x higher than the number recorded by other international orgs. More on the recent strikes in America's forever war in Yemen 👉 mailchi.mp/cd4323bd1138...
A picture uploaded to social media of a vehicle purportedly hit by a US drone strike in the city of Al Ghaydah, Al-Mahrah governorate on 12 February 2026. Additional images indicate the munition was likely the bladed (rather than explosive) R9X Hellfire missile. An alleged AQAP member, a Somali national, was reportedly killed in the strike. One of 21 US counter terrorism strikes recorded by Yemen Data Project since Trump returned to office in January 2025.
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Olga Nesterova @onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 01/04/2026
Per the Financial Times, Trump threatened to halt weapons supplies for Ukraine unless European countries agreed to help secure the Strait of Hormuz. If accurate, that would amount to linking support for Ukraine to European backing for a separate U.S. pressure campaign in the Gulf.
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Patrick Osgood @patrickosgood.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Well, this sounds fucking insane
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 01/04/2026
35 years ago my father sent me this postcard from Kuwait. He describes seeing the “Kuwait oil fires cloud”. Today, on the 21st anniversary of his death, it feels like history has come around again. Among the many things I miss are the heated political debates we would’ve had in times like these.
An old postcard showing a British flag and a hand making the V sign with the words: Operation Desert Storm. Victory Kuwait 1991.
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 31/03/2026
Another demonstration of UAE's benevolence. As many as 70 British nationals have been arrested for sharing photos of Iranian strike damage. Given UK FCDO's record of complete failure/refusal to engage with UAE on detained/tortured Brits, I wouldn't be holding out hope. inews.co.uk/news/world/f...
inews.co.uk
I filmed this air strike in Dubai. Then I had to flee fearing arrest
Hadi Makhmudi, 21, says he was threatened after posting footage of debris and a burning hotel after an Iranian attack
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Iona Craig @ionacraig.com · 31/03/2026
Unsealed lawsuit reveals Yemeni MP Anssaf Mayo is suing 2x American military veterans and an Israeli-Hungarian, accusing them of carrying out political assassinations in Yemen on behalf of the UAE. The attempt on Mayo's life was documented by Buzzfeed News and BBC. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/w...
nytimes.com
Lawsuit Accuses Americans of Political Killings for Hire Overseas
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