Saudi Arabia discussed with military representatives of 43 countries the formation of a multinational alliance charged with protecting maritime navigation, hoping to counter a blockade the Houthis imposed on the kingdom last week.
The Saudis proposed leading the coalition, which would address threats in the Red Sea, its southern entrance, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, and the Gulf of Aden. Thirteen countries expressed support for the initiative, namely Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia.
The alliance’s charter and its organizational structure, among other procedures have yet to be completed, the Saudi Defense Ministry said Thursday in a statement detailing the meeting it hosted, which the delegation of the European Union to the kingdom also attended
Saudi Arabia would serve as the founding and leading state of the alliance and host its headquarters,” according to the statement. While the participants “stressed the importance of enhancing multilateral defense cooperation,” the statement didn’t mention specific military commitments.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed militia in Yemen, announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in response to what they say was Riyadh’s siege of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. The group has since attacked tankers linked to Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, making vessels wary of sailing through Bab al-Mandab.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia began shipping the bulk of its crude oil exports through the Red Sea instead of the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping was largely disrupted by the US-led Iran war that broke out in late February.
The maritime alliance is intended to “strengthen collective maritime security, safeguard freedom of navigation and global trade, and embody the principle of shared international responsibility in addressing common threats,” the ministry said.
In a televised speech earlier on Thursday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said there were indications the Saudis were heading toward a “comprehensive escalation,” which he said would be met with a fiercer campaign.
The Houthis are a clan from Yemen’s north that took over Sanaa in 2014 and triggered a civil war that drew in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations until 2022.
Apart from strikes on tankers, the group recently claimed attacks on Saudi oil facilities, including ones linked to oil giant Saudi Aramco in the Red Sea port towns of Jizan and Yanbu. There was no confirmation from the Saudi government or Aramco that the company’s sites were targeted.
However, the Saudi cabinet said Tuesday Iran-affiliated militias in Yemen and Iraq carried out assaults on oil facilities in Riyadh and the Eastern Region. Reuters later reported the Houthis worked with Iraqi armed groups to attack Saudi Arabia from Iraq this week.