Pakistan, Turkiye likely to join Saudi war against Houthis

Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan are moving closer to coordinating military support for the kingdom as Yemen’s Houthis intensify attacks on Saudi territory and infrastructure, with the three countries’ military chiefs set to hold urgent talks on ways to support Riyadh under their joint defence pact.
The Iran-backed group has escalated its attacks on the kingdom since July, ending a years-long truce and declaring a maritime blockade, hitting Saudi targets and seizing Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast as they seek to stifle Saudi oil exports. Turkiye’s chief of general staff was scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday to attend the meeting, the Turkish defence ministry said in a statement. It was unclear whether the meeting would be held the same day.
The announcement came after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met in New York on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on 7 August to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defence cooperation.
The pact stipulates that an attack on one of the three countries is considered an attack on them all.

The three countries have since begun setting up mechanisms under the pact. Their foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs met in Istanbul on 31 August for the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, agreeing to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia and to deepen military cooperation.
Thursday’s foreign ministers’ meeting also condemned attacks targeting Makkah as well as civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia, and it affirmed the kingdom’s right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Aljazeera reported. On Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Saleh bin Fawzan bin Abdullah Al-Fawzan called on soldiers to “be prepared to fulfil your duty” and prayed for God to “eradicate the Houthi group and those who support it”.

UNSC condemns escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemeni Houthi rebels in a rare show of unity from the UN’s top body.
The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers and territory and seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, which is vital for Saudi oil exports, causing energy prices to jump.
“The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children,” said the rotating president of the Council, French UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont, delivering a joint statement.