In Most Dangerous Countries Saudi Arabia Faces Intensified Houthi Missile Attacks as Allies Prepare Joint Defense Talks

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are convening an urgent high-level meeting under their joint defense pact to support Saudi Arabia as Yemen's Houthis intensify missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets, including areas near Mecca, prompting the kingdom's Grand Mufti to urge troops to prepare to sacrifice their lives to oust the group in one of the most dangerous countries regions. [1] The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. [1]

Allies Convene Urgent Defense Meeting

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defense pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis. [1] Amid the fighting, the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement. [2] They condemned the attacks targeting Mecca and other civilian sites, while affirming Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, the statement said. [2] “The ministers also discussed arrangements for holding an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the parties constitutes an attack against all parties,” read part of the statement. [1]

Houthi Attacks Trigger Saudi Alerts

The Houthis said they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, September 24, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters. [1] Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port. [3] The Houthis claimed they had attacked a "sensitive target" in Riyadh and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. [3] The escalation follows a major Houthi advance along Yemen's western coast, including control of territory reaching the Bab el-Mandeb, a strategically important Red Sea waterway. [3]

Grand Mufti Calls for Total Defeat of Houthis

Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, the kingdom’s top religious authority, called on soldiers to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis until the group is ousted from power, according to a statement posted by the Saudi state news agency late on Thursday. [2] “Protecting this great nation... and punishing anyone who seeks to lay a hand on even an inch of its territory are among the greatest duties and most virtuous acts of devotion, for which lives and souls may be sacrificed in seeking God's pleasure,” he said in the statement. [3] The Grand Mufti also called for the complete defeat of the Houthis and those supporting them, while asking God to protect Saudi Arabia and Yemen from harm. [3] He urged troops to obey the country's rulers and military commanders and described restoring the authority of Yemen's Saudi-backed government as one of the kingdom's most pressing obligations. [3]

Broader War Disrupts Oil Flows

The Houthis have launched strikes on the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly fired into Saudi Arabia, disrupting oil flows from the world’s largest energy exporter, as part of a wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. [2] The war, which US President Donald Trump launched alongside Israel in February, has killed thousands of people and disrupted global energy supplies. [1] Iran and its allies have significantly pressured oil exports from Saudi Arabia, a US ally. [2] The Houthis have disrupted ship traffic at the mouth of the Red Sea while Iran has effectively limited tanker traffic at the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for 20% of the world’s oil exports before the start of the war. [1] An attack by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq also temporarily knocked Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline out of service. [2] Oil prices fell on Friday, September 25, as markets weighed the possibility of a truce, even as the number of ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to nine on Thursday, half the 10-day average. [1]

Questions Over Iran's Influence on Houthis

Security experts have debated exactly how much Iran directly influences the Houthis, a Shi’ite Islamist movement that evolved from a local insurgency into a powerful armed group controlling much of northern Yemen. [2] However, Yemeni government, Iranian and regional sources have said the Houthis’ advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast was carried out with direct guidance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. [1] The meeting was announced shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American television interview on Thursday. [2] “The Houthis are responsible for their own actions,” Pezeshkian told the Fox News program “Special Report with Bret Baier” a day after he appeared before the UN General Assembly in New York. [1]

What to watch next: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Thursday that Tehran had conveyed a proposal to the United States via intermediaries under which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened if Tehran’s conditions were met, with hostilities ending on all fronts including Lebanon within seven days in exchange for lifted sanctions. [2]