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Arabia
Saudi coalition says intercepted Houthi drones headed for Riyadh
2026-09-26
[IsraelTimes] Missiles aimed at Saudi city of Khamis Mushait also intercepted; top member of Iran-backed rebel group threatens a much larger escalation

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s said on Saturday it had intercepted drones and ballistic missiles, as the Iran-backed group launched fresh attacks, including on Riyadh, despite international condemnation.

The strikes were the latest in a series of escalating Houthi attacks since July, when renewed hostilities shattered a years-long truce and embroiled Yemen in the wider Middle East war.

The United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
Security Council earlier condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, noting that the strikes have maimed "civilians, including women and kiddies."

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.

A front man for the Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday its air defences "intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the Riyadh area."

Saudi air defences also intercepted and destroyed two Houthi-launched ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait, a city in the country’s southwest that is home to an air base, the front man said.

Hezam al-Assad, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, said on Saturday that "Despite the operation’s strength, scope, and impact, our armed forces view it as merely a small-scale rehearsal for a full-scale escalation."

Jasem Mohammed Albudaiwi, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, denounced the Houthi attacks on Saturday.

"This dangerous escalation constitutes a flagrant violation of the Kingdom’s illusory sovereignty and poses a direct threat to the security and safety of civilians and the stability of the region," he said in a statement.

Albudaiwi also called on the international community to "adopt a firm stance" to end the attacks and hold the Houthis accountable.

On Friday, the head of Yemen’s governing body, Rashad al-Alimi, called for a general mobilisation to counter the Houthi offensive.

A ground campaign being waged by Houthi forces against Yemeni forces is threatening a humanitarian crisis, with 138,000 people displaced across Yemen since August, 70,000 children among them, according to the United Nations.
Link


Arabia
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi missiles; group claims strikes on Riyadh, Aramco
2026-09-25
[IsraelTimes] Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s on Thursday that the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said were aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea.

The Houthis later on Thursday said they had carried out attacks on what they described as "a sensitive target" in the capital Riyadh and on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

Houthi military front man Yahya Saree said the group used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones in the two operations, adding that they had achieved their objectives.

There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on Riyadh. Saudi civil defense did not issue an emergency alert for Riyadh on Thursday.

The escalation threatens Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil through the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted and the kingdom’s East-West pipeline is only now resuming operations after dronezaps earlier this month. The Houthis declared a naval blockade on the kingdom in July, opening a second theatre in the war between the US and Iran.

It was not clear whether there was any damage or casualties in either Taif or Yanbu, the main alternative route for Saudi oil, after a widespread emergency alert was issued for areas including Jeddah and Islam’s holy city of Mecca.

The attack on Yanbu followed an improvement in prospects for oil exports to resume from the terminal there. Industry sources say Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping volumes through its East-West pipeline, which was shut on September 11 after drone attacks which Riyadh has blamed on Iraqi ⁠militia.

HOUTHIS CLAIM ATTACK ON JAZAN FURTHER SOUTH
Saree had said earlier on Thursday that the group had attacked Saudi military sites in Jazan province bordering Yemen. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.

Saree said the Houthis carried out the attack using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, targeting what he described as "operations rooms, command and control centres, weapons depots" in Jazan, as well as missile launch sites and military camps.

Saudi civil defense issued an emergency alert over a potential danger in Jazan on Wednesday, but it issued no alerts on Thursday.

Civil defense authorities also warned of potential danger in the northwestern province of Tabuk, near the border with Jordan — a first for the area during the latest escalation between the kingdom and the Houthis this month.

The Houthis have largely attacked southern areas of Saudi Arabia.

They seized the whole Yemeni western coast in a lightning offensive nearly two weeks ago that brought them to the shores of the Red Sea’s strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway.

FLARE-UP IN YEMEN’S CIVIL WAR BROADENS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT
The Riyadh-backed government’s forces had earlier repelled overnight attacks by the Houthis on a key supply route to Yemen’s third-biggest city, Taiz, from the southern port city of Aden, where the internationally recognized administration is based, government sources said.

The Houthis have kept up pressure along a steep, winding mountain pass known as Hejat al-Abd, a lifeline for government forces and the only route for goods and residents to reach Taiz and travel abroad.

Seizing parts of the road could allow the Houthis to tighten their grip around the city and deal another blow to the government, which has struggled to regain the initiative since losing the western coast.

The fighting is the latest episode in 12 years of civil war in Yemen, which had largely been frozen since a 2022 truce. The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.

More than 700 people have been killed and thousands maimed in the latest fighting, according to the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
. Nearly 130,000 Yemenis have been displaced within the country, while more than 3,000 have fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.
Link


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Israel’s 6th submarine to arrive as Navy plans major fleet expansion
2026-09-25
[IsraelTimes] INS Drakon reaches Israel after 8,000-km voyage from Germany, as military seeks to boost capabilities amid growing maritime threats

The Israeli Navy plans to multiply its naval fleet in the coming years to contend with a maritime arms race in the region and new threats at sea, The Times of Israel learned on Wednesday.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir announced in March 2025 that the relatively modest-sized Israeli Navy would become a "long-range strategic arm [of the military], with defensive and offensive capabilities."

On Thursday, the Israeli Navy is set to recieve its sixth submarine, INS "Drakon" — or Dragon — following a 3,792-nautical mile (around 8,000 km) voyage of nearly a month from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems’ shipyard in Kiel, Germany, and after around 12 years of planning, construction, and testing.

Navy officials said that the delivery of the INS Drakon was delayed by several months because Denmark and Norway prevented German contractor TKMS from conducting tests of the submarine in their deep waters, or using their ports in between tests. Instead, TKMS had to take INS Drakon further out into the North Sea, in international waters, to conduct the tests, and sail all the way back to Germany each time.

The move by Denmark and Norway also threatens to delay future projects by TKMS of naval vessels for Israel, the officials said.

On Thursday, the Navy will hold a ceremony at the Haifa Naval Base to receive the Dolphin 2-class submarine, coming in at 74 meters long and weighing a whopping 2,600 tons — the largest and heaviest submarine yet in Israel’s service.

The military has said that INS Drakon is to be equipped with "innovative and advanced technologies that place Israel at the forefront of global military technology and will enhance the Israeli Navy’s operational flexibility for years to come." The submarine, equipped with air-independent propulsion, enables its crew to operate for long periods at a time underwater without needing to surface for air, providing significant levels of stealth, according to military officials.

The installation of the Israeli systems inside the new submarine is expected to take two to three months, and only months later will it be declared operational, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The submarine’s originally proposed name was Dakar, after an Israeli submarine that sank in 1968. Dragon is meant to be a compromise after some of the families of the fallen sailors from the original Dakar protested the proposal to recycle the name.

"Dakar" will instead be reserved for the name of the overall class of the Navy’s future submarines, which are set to replace the Navy’s three aging first-generation Dolphin-class vessels, in service since around 2000.

The first of three Dakar-class submarines is scheduled for delivery in 2031. The Dakar submarines are expected to be significantly larger than the INS Drakon, at 84 meters long and 3,800 tons.

The arrival of the INS Drakon comes as the Navy is seeking to massively increase its fleet in the coming years, after detecting that other countries bordering the Mediterranean — both allies and nations with strained ties — have significantly larger navies than Israel. The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
, for example, currently has 14 active submarines and is expected to increase that number to 18 in the coming years, while neighboring Greece has nine.

In addition, the military has understood that it must have a stronger Navy to contend with new threats at sea, following developments in the past few years, and especially in recent months, in the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, where Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and the Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s have prevented freedom of movement in the Gulf and Red Sea, harming major shipping routes.

Navy officials said they fear the same harm to freedom of navigation and shipping could occur elsewhere, including in the Mediterranean.

To contend with those threats, in the next three to four years, the Navy is set to receive the first of five Reshef-class corvettes. These are due to replace the two oldest models of Israel’s Sa’ar 4.5-class missile boats, set to be retired after four decades. In practice, this means that the Navy is increasing the number of small missile boats in its fleet.
Related:
Israeli Navy: 2026-08-10 Israel's new $634M German-built 'doomsday' sub gives major boost to Iran deterrence
Israeli Navy: 2026-07-18 Breaking: Third Circuit Says Ban on 'Assault Weapons' and 'Large Capacity' Magazines Is Unconstitutional
Israeli Navy: 2026-07-14 Greta Thunberg glued herself to the pavement outside Rheinmetall's Berlin office
Link


Arabia
Houthis say Saudi strike killed 6 in Mokha, as G7 urges Iran-backed group to halt fire
2026-09-23
[IsraelTimes] Group of countries also calls on Iran to stop arming Houthis; UK, France pledge ‘defensive’ support to Saudi Arabia to secure energy supply; Trump speaks with Yemen’s leader

Saudi-led strikes on the strategic Red Sea port city of Mokha killed at least six people and maimed eight others, a news agency affiliated with the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s said on Tuesday, as international calls mounted for the Iran-backed group in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
to halt its fighting.

The Houthis have staged a lightning offensive in recent weeks to take over Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast, including Mokha, leaving the country’s Saudi-backed government scrambling to respond. The war in impoverished Yemen, which began in 2014 with the Houthi capture of the capital Sanaa, had been largely frozen since 2022 but resumed in July.

"Six civilians, including two children and a woman, were killed and eight others, including a child and a woman, were maimed in Saudi-led coalition Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s on Mokha," the Houthi-affiliated news agency Saba reported on Tuesday.

On Monday, the UK and La Belle France said they would provide defensive assistance to Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
, which the Houthis have repeatedly struck during the renewed conflict. That same day, the foreign ministers of the G7 condemned the "unacceptable continued strikes" waged from Yemen against Saudi Arabia and urged the Iran-backed group to immediately hold its fire.

"We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith," said the statement from leaders representing Canada, La Belle France, Germany, Italia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

They also called on Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
"to end its arming of and support for the Houthis," alleging Tehran is in violation of past UN Security Council resolutions.

The statement came a day after the head of Yemen’s Saudi-backed governing body, Rashad al-Alimi, held a call with US President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
to request American support against the pro-Iranian fighters, a source in Alimi’s office told AFP, echoing calls from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
Trump did not promise military support, the source said, adding that the call was intended as a show of solidarity with Yemen’s embattled government. On Sunday, Trump reportedly called off airstrikes against the Houthis at the last minute.

UK PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR SAUDI ’DEFENSIVE’ MISSIONS
Other Western allies of Saudi Arabia are pledging assistance. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Monday that Britannia has agreed to provide limited military support to Saudi Arabia to repel Houthi attacks.

UK officials say the agreement will start in the coming days, and involve one RAF Voyager refueling Saudi planes on "defensive" missions.

Burnham told news hounds as he flew to the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
General Assembly in New York that he had agreed the Royal Air Force will provide air-to-air refueling of Saudi planes. The agreement is for a matter of weeks, but Burnham said it will be kept under review.

Burnham said he was "acting to secure the interests of Britannia and the wider region, because of course Saudi Arabia has been experiencing attack, is looking at potential further disruption, and we need to keep those pathways [for oil] open."

Britannia has condemned the Houthi attacks and said the UK will "work with partners to support regional stability, protect civilians and support humanitarian access."

FRANCE OFFERS TO HELP SECURE SAUDI ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
La Belle France, meanwhile, is ready to work on "securing" Saudi energy infrastructure targeted by the Houthis, adopting a "strictly defensive approach," a diplomatic source said Monday.

"La Belle France is ready to contribute to securing Saudi energy infrastructure in Yanbu and along the East-West Pipeline, within the framework of a strictly defensive approach," the source said, emphasizing that "this in no way involves taking part in the conflict with the Houthis."

The Houthis have carried out attacks against facilities belonging to the Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu. The East-West Pipeline — a crucial crude oil export route — has also been shut down following drone attacks launched from Iraq, according to Riyadh.
Link


Arabia
US embassies across Middle East issue security alert over Houthi-Saudi Arabia fighting
2026-09-20
[IsraelTimes] Alerts warn US citizens to stay vigilant due to increased Houthi threat, noting group’s past attacks on civilian airports

The US embassy in Israel issued a security alert on Saturday in light of escalated fighting between the Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
and a Saudi coalition that supports the internationally recognized government of Yemen.

The alert instructed US citizens in Israel to "exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions."

Other US missions across the Middle East, including the US virtual embassy in Iran, issued similar security alerts.

"US diplomatic facilities, including outside the Middle East, have been targeted," the security warnings read. "Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
and groups supportive of Iran may target other US interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world, including US businesses and other institutions."

The alerts were published hours after the Houthis said that they had launched missile strikes at "sensitive sites" in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
. Firefighters were seen extinguishing a blaze on a fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil giant Aramco at a fuel depot near Riyadh’s international airport earlier on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia later confirmed that the Houthis had fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, but said its air force had "successfully intercepted and destroyed" it.

The US embassy alert noted that the Houthis have targeted civilian airports in the past, and that "the military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly."

"Americans traveling to or from the region should monitor information about airport and airline operations," the security alert stated, adding that both the embassy in Jerusalem and the branch office in Tel Aviv were operating as normal.

The US Embassy in Israel has issued similar alerts several times in recent months due to the war with Iran, but this appeared to be the first published due to fighting between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has developed as a new theatre of conflict in the wider war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran at the end of February. US President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
has rebuffed Saudi requests for direct US military intervention against the Houthis.

The Houthis, who ⁠control ​the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, ​have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red ​Sea.

The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, creating new threats to global oil supplies and putting at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains blockaded.

The UN Security Council in a statement on Friday, "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 kiddies."

In the statement, the Security Council also condemned "Houthi military escalation in Yemen."

Courtesy of Skidmark:
Flames, smoke seen near Riyadh airport; Houthis claim attacks on Saudi capital

[Reuters] Yemen's Houthis said they attacked "sensitive" sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Saturday with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large ​plume of smoke were seen near the city's main airport.

Saudi Arabia had sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around Riyadh, amid an escalation in attacks ‌by the Houthis in the kingdom.

Reuters video and photographs showed a huge pillar of black smoke rising in the area, with the airport highway, main terminal building and other facilities in the foreground. At one point in the video, flames were visible rising from behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.

While the Iranian-backed Houthis have launched repeated attacks against Saudi Arabia since July, Saturday's claim appeared to be their first reported strike on Riyadh since ​the current escalation began.

The Houthis did not specify what they had targeted in Riyadh, but said they had also attacked an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of ​Yanbu, a key Saudi oil export hub.

They said the operation came as a response to an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led military ⁠coalition fighting the Houthis said its air defences had destroyed a missile fired by the Yemeni group toward Riyadh early on Saturday.

In a statement, the coalition also said it had foiled ​attacks targeting civilians in the Saudi cities of Bish and Farasan in the southwest and Taif in the west, as well as Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. It did not say whether ​there was any damage.

Saudi civil defence sent the alerts by phone overnight for potential danger of aerial attacks in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning. A Reuters journalist in Riyadh's Olaya area heard booms before the all-clear was sent.

Although some alerts had been issued in Riyadh this year after the start of the US-Iran war, these were the first since the escalation with the ​Houthis began in July.

The fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has developed as a new theatre of conflict in the wider war that began with US and Israeli strikes against Iran ​at the end of February. US President Donald Trump has rebuffed Saudi requests for direct US military intervention against the Houthis.


Link


Arabia
The Houthis Are Now in The Kill Box
2026-09-19
From a week ago. Many more supporting tweets at the link, but I think these are the critical points.
[HotAir] In Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
, one of the countries that borders the other waterway chokehold in the region, the al-Mandeb Strait leading to the Red Sea, the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s were surrounded by multiple armed forces in the center of the country, but exploited a weakness in the Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
n line to the southwest, and made a run for it through the mountains until they reached flat terrain on the coast of the Strait. The Houthis made short work of Mokha, and even took a couple of the channel islands in the Strait itself.

CNN
...formerly the Cable News Network, now who know what it might stand for...
's Nic Robertson was downright giddy with excitement to report on how brazen the Houthi maneuver was, and how this meant so much more trouble now for Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
and the Americans.


… some Saudi-backed Yemeni battalions were operating at only around 20% of their strength on paper. The rest? "Ghost names" on military payrolls, soldiers who effectively existed on paper while salaries continued to be collected.

Then came the air-support failure. Yemeni commanders desperately requested air cover as waves of Houthi fighters advanced toward the strategic Red Sea port. One senior Yemeni source says CENTCOM told him the United States was watching the battle closely and that Saudi air support was coming. It never came.

According to CNN's sources, Saudi Arabia conducted not a single airstrike that day despite receiving minute-by-minute updates.

Mocha fell within hours. Perim Island, sitting directly inside Bab el-Mandeb, fell the following day.

CNN's Nic Robertson had visited Perim shortly before it fell.

And here's what makes this even more extraordinary: CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper was in Saudi Arabia for coordination meetings on Thursday. More than 100 U.S. military advisers had already been deployed to the kingdom to provide intelligence and targeting support, as part of a newly established joint command.

Yet the system failed at the moment it mattered. One regional source described it to CNN as a "Saudi-American f**k up of epic proportions."

Another problem runs deeper: there is no unified command among Yemen's anti-Houthi forces, and while all of this was happening, MBS called Trump twice, ultimately asking the United States to strike the Houthis directly. Trump refused.

The result: In roughly 36 hours, a force riddled with ghost soldiers, fractured command structures and absent air support lost Mocha and then Perim, allowing an Iran-backed movement to establish itself directly inside one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints.

The Houthis won the ground, but their opponents appear to have helped enormously. https://x.com/amanpour/status/2098798791595847855/video/1


We'll come back to what's going on with each of those fronts in due course, but in order to understand how and why we got there, we have to update on the increasingly deteriorating conditions inside Iran due to Operation Epic Fury, then Operation Economic Fury, and most recently, Operation Economic Outcast, the layering on of increased sanctions on the Iran regime's ability to use its neighbors for backchannel access to the financial system.

Israel's Channel 14 reported from sources inside the regime that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the blusterous blowhard serving as Iran's Parliament Speaker, was caught admitting to others inside the government that the regime won't be able to stand this economic pressure much longer. Here's Dror Balazada:



Iran's currency continues to devalue, and inflation continues to climb higher than oil prices. One account puts the annualized inflation rate at 144 percent.

How are Iranians surviving? The same way the regime is — by putting everything on credit. As long as everyone just borrows from everyone else but no money actually changes hands, it'll work for a while until the food runs out and the banks collapse.

Now let's say you have a car that runs, and you actually have gas. Now all you need is...a road that won't consume your car and the precious little gas you do have.

Water levels are so low in other regions of Iran that the regime has literally drawn all the water out of some of the rivers, which didn't give the fish that remained much of a chance.

For several IRGC and Basij forces, it's getting too hard to get by and still support the regime.

President Trump had no problem admitting last week to disabling or sinking close to 10 Iranian oil tankers loitering in the Gulf because of the blockade in response to Iranian strikes on commercial traffic going through Hormuz. But there was another tanker late last week that got struck.

An Iranian cargo ship took a projectile off Qeshm Island early Sunday. One crew member dead, four wounded, ship on fire, crew evacuated.

Nobody's claimed it. Tehran's blaming a "terrorist enemy." CENTCOM hasn't said a word.

Was it struck by our Navy? Not even President Trump will 'fess up' to this one.

That's not exactly a Shermanesque no, is it? So what's the big deal about this particular ship? It was around Qeshm Island, which is basically Iran's equivalent of a safe harbor. We're technically not supposed to be able to operate that close to the Iranian shore on the water. Air strikes? Sure. Navy? This is an interesting attention-getter by the President.

Many in the American media invested in Trump failure with regards to the Iran war are maintaining the illusion that Iran hasn't really lost anything as far as their military industrial complex, and that they are rebuilding much quicker than ever and will be good as new, free to fulfill a life of religious fulfillment soon enough, to quote Leslie Nielsen's Dr. Rumack in Airplane!

Before the Americans and Israelis opened up on Iran with Operation Epic Fury on the last day of February, Iran was a supplier of Shahed-136 drones to Russia for their war with Ukraine. Now? Iran is begging Russia to supply them with Geran-2's, which is Russia's knock-off clone of the Shahed. Why? Iran no longer has the capacity or money to build them on their own, and they're begging Russia to help.

As for Saudi Arabia, it's been a mixed bag this week. We'll get to their poor performance holding up their part of the containment ring around the Houthis and IRGC advisors in Yemen in a bit, but as far as the pipeline goes, I think there's a bit of a misdirect going on. There are lots of media and speculators invested in Trump's defeat saying the pipeline is all but destroyed, the pumping stations will take between six weeks to six months, with others claiming a years-long delay, and without enough reserves in Yanbu, in a couple weeks, there will be an oil flow disruption that will cause prices to skyrocket.

I'm not buying into the panic. First, the blockade is still in place. Ships are methodically moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Three ships a day more than what currently travels makes up for the seven million barrels going through the pipeline. That's if the oil has to temporarily move entirely via tanker again.

According to satellite imagery after the attack, it looks like there's a bypass section of pipeline just about in place.



Yes, the pumping stations will take weeks to rebuild, but portable pumps can be brought in in the interim. The flow rate will not be the same as before, but oil will still flow. And at the mouth of the pipeline, in Dammam, friction modifiers, which are essentially a polymer mixed in with the crude to help it flow easier through the pipeline, will help compensate for the lack of full pumping capacity at the bypass site.

My hunch is that the pipeline will be flowing, even if at reduced capacity, very soon, with full capacity returning sooner than we think.

As for the Houthi adventure, early in the week, the last remaining functional Iranian terror proxy group, and their IRGC advisors, were getting their heads handed to them by the Yemeni armed forces.

🚨 Iranian IRGC personnel are reportedly being killed alongside the Houthis as Yemeni government forces continue advancing in the strategically critical Al-Jawf front.

Houthis had no air power, and were essentially surrounded.

But then, the Saudis' contingent failed to hold their southwest line, and the Houthis made a run for it. Before the Yemeni forces could react, Mokha and a couple islands had fallen, and everyone already against the war with Iran started the 'all is lost' routine. They assumed that the al-Mandeb Strait had essentially fallen, and that no oil would move at all, and Iran finally had the upper hand.

This obviously was not a great development, but I did not believe for a second that it was the strategic victory for the Houthis, and by extension, Iran, as was reported. Why?

The conditions around Sana'a, where Yemeni forces were systematically taking over former Houthi territory and wiping them out had not changed one bit. Yes, some of the Houthis were temporarily out of harm's way. But where did that leave them? Their backs to the sea, mountains in front of them, and flat terrain that offer very little places to hide. They still have no air power, limited munitions, even though they picked up some of the U.S.-made vehicles the Saudis left behind, but no reinforcements, and no one in Iran coming with the cavalry. It seemed to me all weekend that they were sitting ducks in a defenseless position. Turns out my hunch was right.

Not 24 hours passed before U.S. advisors from Centcom were in Saudi Arabia encouraging, chastising, and providing targeting.



While Saudi forces were regrouping and standing up, the Yemeni forces also reoriented, and resumed the fight against the Houthis now that they were in the 'Kill Box' along the coast.

Link


Arabia
Yemeni government forces report drone strikes, artillery attacks against Houthis across Marib, Taiz as Houthis eye Yemen’s oil-rich east
2026-09-19

Text:

War in #Yemen #SITREP | Yemeni government forces reported a series of drone strikes, artillery attacks and ground engagements against Houthi forces across Marib, Taiz and the Kahbub–Bab al-Mandab front.

According to the @Yem_army_media, the Seventh Military Region’s drone unit targeted Houthi personnel concentrations on Marib’s northern fronts, while artillery units on the western fronts reportedly destroyed nine Houthi combat vehicles, killing all personnel aboard. The Third Military Region Command (MRC) also reported a drone strike against Houthi vehicles, although it did not disclose the precise location, number of vehicles hit or resulting casualties.

More at the link

Houthis eye Yemen’s oil-rich east after seizing Red Sea coast

[IsraelTimes] Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and an array of other forces currently the only obstacle standing in way of the Iran-backed rebels, as the US shows no interest in joining fight

It’s been a week since Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s stormed down the Red Sea coast, extending their reach to a key maritime chokepoint and threatening Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
’s oil exports.

The Houthis’ biggest land grab in years reignited Yemen’s 12-year civil war and pushed up global fuel prices. It also gave Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
another potential source of leverage as the United States has started to loosen Tehran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula.

The Houthis are also firing at Saudi oil facilities and tankers. An attack on Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline, blamed on Iran-backed militias in Iraq, added to an unfolding nightmare for the kingdom and rattled world markets.

The rebel blitz has forced some 125,000 Yemenis to flee their homes. The civil war has killed over 150,000 people and at times pushed the country to the brink of famine.

Now the Houthis appear to be eyeing Yemen’s oil-rich east. So far, the only thing standing in their way is Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and an array of forces that have fought one another as recently as January. Saudi Arabia’s most important ally, the US, appears to be sitting this one out.

THE HOUTHIS ARE FIGHTING ON SEVERAL FRONTS
The Houthis captured the important Red Sea port city of Mokha before taking several islands near the narrow Bab el-Mandeb strait, through which some 12% of world trade passes in peacetime. They are also just 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Djibouti, a small African nation hosting US and other military bases.

At least 112,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen during the fighting, while nearly 3,000 have fled by sea to Djibouti, the United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
migration agency said on Friday, as reported by Rooters.

Nearly 3,000 people have crossed the Gulf of Aden to Djibouti in the Horn of Africa in less than a week as escalating violence have forced more families to flee, Sandrine Desamours, the representative for the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, told news hounds in Geneva via video link from Djibouti.

The government of Djibouti is preparing for the arrival of up to 10,000 refugees — which will add acute pressure on the country’s health care and education services, Desamours said.

The UN International Organization for Migration said people are fleeing on overcrowded boats and arriving with very limited food and water. Most fleeing are Yemeni families seeking refuge in Djibouti, but IOM is also beginning to see a small number of migrants colonists, mainly from Æthiopia, heading in the same direction.

The Houthis first swept down from their northern heartland in 2014, capturing the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year, and fighting raged until a 2022 ceasefire.

In recent days, there has been heavy fighting in and around Marib, a central city in an oil-rich province of the same name. Previous Houthi offensives have failed to capture the city, which also serves as a military hub for Saudi-backed forces. The Houthis also threaten the western city of Taiz, a front line for much of the conflict.

TIGHTENING THE NOOSE ON THE WORLD’S LARGEST OIL EXPORTER
The Houthis want Saudi Arabia to lift a long-running blockade on the territory they control.

"It is Saudi Arabia that closed the Bab el-Mandeb strait to shipping traffic to and from Yemen and imposed an unjust blockade on the country," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

The Saudis and their allies have long struggled to contain or deter the Houthis, and may be tempted to seek a diplomatic solution to halt the attacks. That might ultimately require US concessions to Iran, the only country with leverage over the Houthis.

The US, which bombed the Houthis under the Biden and Trump administrations, has shown no interest in getting involved this time around, and the Houthis appear keen to keep it that way. They say they are only attacking Saudi shipping.

TRAFFIC HAS RECOVERED IN THE RED SEA, FOR NOW
Windward, a shipping firm, reported a dip in traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb from 35 daily transits before the Houthi advance to 25 after, but traffic has already recovered and climbed to 45 transits on Sunday.

The Houthis could still expand their target bank beyond Saudi ships and tankers. During their self-styled blockade of Israel at the height of the war in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
, the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea with no known connection to that conflict.

"At the moment, their focus is on Saudi-linked shipping," said Valentin d’Hauthuille, a Middle East analyst at ACLED, a conflict monitor. But they might "extend the criteria according to which vessels are assessed to be ’Saudi-linked’ to increase pressure on both Saudi and the global economy."

THERE ARE SIGNS OF DIPLOMACY, BUT THE COST COULD BE HIGH
Regional mediators have sprung into action, but a diplomatic agreement appears unlikely without some kind of breakthrough in the wider Iran war.

Iran wants the US to lift a blockade and sanctions that have devastated its economy, while the US seeks the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a deal to roll back Tehran’s nuclear program. Neither side has shown any sign of budging since a preliminary agreement quickly crumbled over the summer.

Last weekend, Oman hosted a meeting between US and Houthi representatives, a Houthi official and another individual familiar with the talks told the AP this week. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief the media.

The US says it has been in "constant contact" with the Saudis, a close ally and the recipient of billions of dollars in American military assistance.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
recently visited Egypt, which has served as a regional mediator. A government official in The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire...
, another potential mediator, said this week that it was in talks with Iran and the United Arab Emirates to try and lower tensions.

The Houthi attacks are the first test of a new defense pact among Saudi Arabia, NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A single organization with differing goals, equipment, language, doctrine, and structure....
member Turkey and nuclear power Pakistain. But officials from Turkey and Pakistain say they have not received a Saudi request for support.

THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN YEMEN IS WORSENING
The latest fighting has killed eight civilians and maimed another 32, according to the UN humanitarian office, which says an estimated 125,000 people have fled their homes. The Health Ministry in the Saudi-backed government says the Houthis have killed around 150 civilians since Sept. 3.

Saudi Arabia said Thursday that debris from an intercepted Houthi drone killed one person and maimed two others in the kingdom.

Yemen was the poorest Arab country even before the civil war, and has experienced widespread hunger in recent years because of the conflict and the Saudi-led blockade.

The Houthis’ detention of UN and aid workers has hampered international assistance in the territories they control. Experts say the Houthis have struggled to pay civil servants, leading to some unrest, and have diverted much of their tax revenues to their military wing.

The UN humanitarian office, known as OCHA, says only 20% of its humanitarian appeal for Yemen has been funded, and that "millions risk losing access to food, healthcare, nutrition, water and protection services."

"The needs are extremely high right now," said Sara Ahmed, a supervisor with Doctors Without Borders in Mokha. Doctors are working under difficult conditions to keep essential services running despite hearing Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s, she said.
Related:
Marib: 2026-09-17 Good Morning
Marib: 2026-09-17 A fighter affiliated with the Forces released a new video from Marib Governorate.
Marib: 2026-09-16 Yemen’s 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade repels Houthi advances from Bani Omar and Jarad to outskirts of Al-Wazi'iya(Taiz), heavy fighting in Marib as Saudi bombing continues
Related:
Taiz: 2026-09-16 Yemen’s 4th Mountain Infantry Brigade repels Houthi advances from Bani Omar and Jarad to outskirts of Al-Wazi'iya(Taiz), heavy fighting in Marib as Saudi bombing continues
Taiz: 2026-09-15 Yemeni government-aligned forces reportedly repelling Houthi attempts to advance on several fronts, Saudi warplanes launch 54 airstrikes across 5 governorates
Taiz: 2026-09-15 Two Houthi snipers watched Soddy soldier from afar, were about to shoot him; Houthis lost 2/3rds of attacking force, leading to retreat
Link


Economy
Oil Prices Fall After Surprise U.S. Crude Stock Build Despite Saudi Supply Disruption Fears
2026-09-17
[KhaamaPress] Global oil prices fell on Wednesday after an unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories outweighed investor concerns over potential supply disruptions following attacks on Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
’s oil infrastructure.

Brent crude futures fell 93 cents, or 0.86%, to $107.82 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 97 cents, or 0.92%, to $104.86 a barrel during early trading. The decline followed a sharp rally a day earlier that pushed both benchmarks to their highest levels since May amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Market sentiment shifted after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an unexpected 7.1 million-barrel increase in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending September 11. Analysts surveyed by Rooters had expected a drawdown of about 1.6 million barrels, making the larger-than-expected stock build a bearish signal for oil prices.

The inventory data came despite continuing concerns over Saudi Arabia’s oil exports after Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
fighters targeted the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline and facilities linked to the Red Sea export hub at Yanbu. The attacks forced Saudi Arabia to suspend oil loadings at Yanbu and reroute some crude shipments through Oman’s Sohar port using ship-to-ship transfers.

The East-West Pipeline is one of Saudi Arabia’s most important export routes because it allows crude oil to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Energy analysts have warned that prolonged disruptions to the pipeline could threaten up to 4% of global oil supply, although Saudi authorities have sought alternative export routes to reduce the immediate impact on international markets.

Despite Wednesday’s decline, crude prices remain significantly above levels seen before the latest escalation in the U.S.-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
conflict. Traders continue to monitor the security of the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea shipping corridor, where regional attacks have heightened concerns over global energy supplies and maritime transport.
Link


Arabia
Houthis say 7 killed in Saudi strike on Yemen prison as Bab el-Mandeb battle intensifies
2026-09-08
[IsraelTimes] Days of fighting near strategic Red Sea chokepoint have left more than 300 dead; UN warns renewed large-scale fighting would have ‘grave consequences’

Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran-backed Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s on Monday accused Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
of carrying out Arclight airstrike
...KABOOM!...
s around the country, including the deadly bombardment of a prison, as the rebels pressed an offensive to seize territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The rebels’ media said the attacks targeted Houthi positions across the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, which is divided between areas held by the Iran-backed group and those controlled by the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government.

Saba news agency, which is affiliated with the Houthi movement, reported seven people were killed by Saudi airstrikes on the prison in al-Hazm in the north of Yemen, including one child visiting the facility. Seven others were maimed in the strikes on the prison, the agency added, citing the health ministry in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Footage shared by the rebel group of what they described as the damage to the prison located in Jawf province showed smoke rising from the blast site as rescue workers picked through rubble.

Earlier, Saba reported, "the Saudi enemy targeted the provinces of Jawf, al-Bayda, Marib and Taiz with several airstrikes and cruise missiles."

Days of fighting near the Red Sea coast have left more than 300 people dead and displaced hundreds of families as the Houthis try to capture land bordering the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Further footage shared by the Houthis showed what they said was the aftermath of a missile strike by the group on trucks carrying military equipment from Saudi Arabia to al-Wadiah military camp in Yemen’s Hadramawt province.

’GRAVE CONSEQUENCES’
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait forms the southern entrance to the Red Sea, a shipping artery that has become vital for Saudi oil exports amid Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the US-Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
war.

The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned in a statement on Monday that the Houthi assault had "triggered increasingly intense festivities, threatening to further expand the conflict."

"A return to sustained large-scale fighting will carry grave consequences for civilians and make an already difficult path toward a political settlement even harder," he added.

Military sources within government forces also reported the air raids and missile attacks to AFP. But Saudi Arabia did not announce any such strikes. Most of the strikes were in al-Bayda and Marib, targeting strategic positions, gatherings, and camps under Houthi control, the sources said on condition of anonymity.











The day’s events as eported by Hodhod Yemen News:
Saudi strike on Al-Jawf prison kills five
Five people, including a child, have been killed in a Saudi airstrike on the Central Correctional Facility in Al-Hazm district, Al-Jawf province, as rescue teams continue searching for dozens of people trapped under the rubble.

Sources told Al-Masirah that Saudi enemy warplanes carried out several raids on the facility on Monday afternoon, causing casualties among inmates. Initial reports indicated that a number of prisoners were killed or wounded in the attack.

The director of the correctional facility told Al-Masirah that rescuers had recovered the body of a child and two wounded people, while 35 inmates and a woman visiting her husband remained trapped beneath the rubble.

He added that several wounded people had been transferred to hospitals, while rescue operations were continuing to search for survivors and recover those trapped under the debris.

Later in the evening, Al-Masirah’s correspondent in Al-Jawf reported that five martyrs, including a child, had arrived at Al-Hazm Hospital following the Saudi enemy’s attack, which targeted inmates, staff and visitors at the facility.

The massacre came less than an hour after Saudi enemy warplanes targeted a home in Maqbanah district, Taiz province, injuring a mother and her three daughters.

Yemeni forces repel Saudi-backed attack in Al-Bayda
Yemeni Armed Forces on Monday repelled Saudi-backed forces attempting to advance on the Dhi Na’im area of Al-Bayda province, a military source told Yemen’s official Saba news agency.

The source said that the Saudi-backed forces suffered heavy losses in personnel and equipment, while reinforcements sent to support them were also targeted.

Yemeni forces shoot down Saudi CH-4 drone over Al-Jawf
The Yemeni Armed Forces said Monday they shot down a Saudi-operated CH-4 medium-altitude, long-endurance drone over Khab wa al-Sha’af district in al-Jawf governorate, marking another such interception in recent months.

Yemeni military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e said the drone was conducting what he described as hostile operations in Yemeni airspace before being downed with an “appropriate weapon.”

This is the second aircraft of this type to be downed in the past 12 hours and the fourth in the past 24 hours, according to Sare’e.

The Chinese-made CH-4 is a combat and reconnaissance drone capable of carrying guided munitions and has been used by the Saudi-led coalition since its war on Yemen began in 2015.

Video footage shows ballistic missile strikes on Saudi-backed forces at Al-Wadi’ah camp
Photos at the link.
Yemen’s military media released images and footage showing strikes on Saudi-backed forces’ concentrations and trucks carrying military equipment from Saudi Arabia at the Al-Wadi’ah camp, using locally-produced ballistic missiles.

Saudi Arabia launches fresh airstrikes, cruise missile attacks on Yemen
Saudi Arabia launched new airstrikes and targeted several Yemeni provinces with cruise missiles on Monday evening, Almasirah reported, citing security sources.

According to the security sources, Saudi forces renewed strikes against the provinces of Jawf, Bayda, Ma’rib, and Taiz, utilizing both airstrikes and cruise missiles.

The sources added that the same provinces had been targeted earlier in the day by a similar series of airstrikes and missile strikes.

Yemeni air defenses down third Saudi drone in less than 24 hours
The Yemeni Armed Forces announced on Monday the downing of an armed reconnaissance drone belonging to the Saudi enemy—a “Wing Loong 2” model—while it was conducting hostile missions over Al-Bayda province.

According to the Armed Forces spokesman, the downing came during Yemeni air defenses’ engagement with hostile activities in the province’s airspace. The drone was reportedly carrying out offensive tasks before being intercepted and shot down.

The aircraft downed over Al-Bayda today is the third drone that Yemeni forces have successfully shot down within a period of less than 24 hours—a development that underscores the continued air confrontation and the growing capability of Yemeni air defenses to counter enemy aircraft.
Related:
Yemen: 2026-09-06 Iran coordinates with Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis for attack, Israeli intel. suggests - report
Yemen: 2026-09-06 Good Morning
Yemen: 2026-09-06 Over 60 killed in Yemen as Houthis battle Saudi-backed forces near Red Sea gateway
Link


Arabia
Over 60 killed in Yemen as Houthis battle Saudi-backed forces near Red Sea gateway
2026-09-06
[IsraelTimes] ​Death toll includes 6 civilians on bus reportedly struck by Iran-backed terror group; Saudi jets target rebel positions as government forces seen heading to front lines

Fighting between Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Saudi-backed government forces and the country’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels killed more than 60 people on Saturday, including civilians, medical and military sources told AFP.

The renewed festivities in Yemen’s southwest over control of a gateway to the Red Sea came after Friday saw some of the deadliest fighting in years, following the collapse in July of a 2022 ceasefire.

According to three Yemeni military sources, 26 government troops were killed during several hours of fighting in the country’s southwest, while medical and military sources from the Iran-backed Houthis said 31 rebel fighters were killed.

One medical source in the government-held city of Taiz said a missile strike also killed six civilians travelling by bus and maimed seven others.

A government official blamed the strike on the bus, travelling between Taiz and the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government in Aden, on the Houthis.

In Taiz, a military officer said the "coming hours will be decisive" after the Houthis seized positions near the city a day earlier.

The officer added that reinforcements had been arriving from Aden in response to the Houthi offensive, which aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab strait.

In Hays district, 68 kilometers northwest of Taiz towards the Red Sea coast, AFP journalists saw government forces being ferried to the front lines in pickup trucks, some carrying assault rifles and others with rocket-propelled grenades slung over their shoulders.

Rashed Maghari, a Hays resident, said "there has been heavy Houthi shelling on Hays and its residents, but the district is tough" and will be hard to capture.

On Friday, the fighting in Yemen killed 129 people, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources.

With Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz to fat merchantmen, the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
, the world’s biggest exporter of crude.

A military official told AFP on Saturday that three Arclight airstrike

...KABOOM!...
s by Saudi Arabia, a key backer of the government in Aden, had targeted positions recently captured by the Houthis in Taiz.
Related:
Taiz: 2026-09-05 After two days of deadly offensive near the Red Sea, the Houthis are in positions to target ships
Taiz: 2026-08-20 Houthis planning to seize vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen government warns
Taiz: 2026-08-16 4 years after the 2022 truce, the Yemen war resumes, with a new strategic equation as Mocha port closed
Related:
Mokha: 2026-09-05 After two days of deadly offensive near the Red Sea, the Houthis are in positions to target ships
Mokha: 2026-08-20 Houthis planning to seize vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemen government warns
Mokha: 2026-08-15 Yeman Govt Drones hitting Houthi positions
Link


Africa Horn
Al-Shabaab and Houthis deepen arms cooperation — WSJ
2026-09-02
[GaroweOnline] al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
and Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
movement have developed a growing partnership involving arms transfers, murderous Moslem training and drone technology, according to an investigative report published by The Wall Street Journal.

The report identified Jibril Yahya Ali, a Somali man known as "Gacaamey," as a longtime liaison between the two groups who purchased military-grade weapons from the Houthis and smuggled them to al-Shabaab. Jibril was killed on Feb. 12 in a missile strike near al-Ghaydah in eastern Yemen while driving along the coast with his new wife.

Two American sources told the WSJ that the United States carried out the strike. However,
man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them...
U.S. Central Command said it was not a military operation, while the CIA declined to confirm whether it was responsible.

Jibril, 38, had studied veterinary medicine in Yemen and operated a charity, a foreign-exchange outlet and an import-export company in Mogadishu.
A busy and ambitious man. It would be admirable were he not so evil.
According to the report, the Houthis provided him with a furnished apartment in Sanaa and a Yemeni passport issued under an assumed name. He also attended official Houthi functions.
Bet he loved going to functions and rubbing elbows with the Houthi bigshots. I’m not sue what benefit there is to having a fake Yemeni passport…
An internal assessment by Yemen’s Counter-Terrorism Service described Jibril as a key figure in strengthening relations between the Houthis and al-Shabaab, particularly in transferring weapons, military equipment and technical expertise.

Al-Shabaab and the Houthis belong to movements rooted in historically opposing religious traditions, but Somali, American and Yemeni officials told the WSJ that hostility toward the United States and Israel has brought them together.
We were recently discussing whether Sunni jihadis and Shiite jihadis could team up, and here’s the answer. The internet is generous.
The partnership benefits both sides. al-Shabaab has considerable financial resources but is seeking more sophisticated weapons and training. The Houthis possess missiles, drones and technical expertise but want cash and an expanded operational presence on the southern side of the Gulf of Aden.
Not getting the green stuff from Iran any more? How sad.
In 2024, al-Shabaab sent Sheikh Ahmed Elmi Samatar to Yemen with a weapons wish list that reportedly included shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles, Katyusha rockets, sniper rifles, attack drones, antitank missiles and night-vision equipment.

Yemeni authorities arrested Samatar in January 2025, but he was later released in a prisoner exchange with the Houthis. He returned to Somalia, leaving Jibril to continue representing al-Shabaab’s interests in Yemen.

After Jibril’s death, al-Shabaab appointed a replacement, suggesting that cooperation between the two groups remains active, according to Matt Bryden, a former United Nations
...boodling on the grand scale...
expert who monitored arms flows into Somalia.

The weapons are reportedly concealed by front companies and shipped through Yemeni ports before being transported across the Gulf of Aden aboard speedboats or fishing vessels. They are unloaded along poorly monitored sections of Somalia’s northern coastline and moved overland to al-Shabaab units in the south.

In April 2025, U.S. forces destroyed two unflagged vessels travelling from Yemen toward Somali waters. U.S. Africa Command said the boats were carrying advanced conventional weapons.

It remains unclear which weapons sought by al-Shabaab have reached Somalia. Somali and American officials are particularly concerned that the group could acquire attack drones or missiles capable of striking military bases.

The WSJ also reported that at least 100 al-Shabaab fighters had travelled to Yemen for training in bomb-making, antiaircraft operations and drone assembly.

One group reportedly spent three months this year in Yemen’s Sa’dah region, while Houthi instructors have also travelled to Somalia to train al-Shabaab murderous Moslems.

In June, a four-member Houthi delegation crossed from Yemen by boat and travelled to Jilib, al-Shabaab’s main stronghold in southern Somalia. The delegation reportedly discussed cooperation aimed at countering Israeli activities in Berbera and promised the group more advanced weapons and training.

The Houthis fear that Israel could use Berbera as a base from which to monitor or attack Yemen.
Ya think?
Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi recently threatened to strike any Israeli presence established in Somaliland
...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells....
Al-Shabaab collects at least $100 million annually through extortion, compulsory taxation and roadside checkpoints, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment. That revenue allows the group to purchase weapons and training from the Houthis.

The Houthis, meanwhile, are seeking a foothold in Somalia from which they could monitor commercial shipping through the Gulf of Aden and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Gen. Dagvin Anderson, commander of U.S. forces in Africa, told the WSJ that the relationship poses a threat extending beyond Somalia and Yemen because it could affect one of the world’s most important trade and energy corridors.

The Houthis did not respond to the newspaper’s questions about their relationship with al-Shabaab. The precise weapons transferred to the Somali group and the full extent of the operations being planned have not been independently verified.
Related:
Ahmed Elmi Samatar 08/26/2026 From Spoke to Hub: The Houthis in Africa

Related:
Sa’dah: 2026-08-10 Houthis launched series of preemptive strikes against South Yemen this week, anticipating possible ground operations
Sa’dah: 2017-05-04 Combat in Yemen's al-Bayda intensifies
Sa’dah: 2016-10-18 Yemeni army forces pound Sa’dah
Related:
Jilib: 2026-08-26 Al-Shabaab senior leaders, including Kenyan operatives, killed in Somalia
Jilib: 2026-08-26 From Spoke to Hub: The Houthis in Africa
Jilib: 2026-08-15 Al-Shabaab and the Emerging Debate Over a Taliban-Style Political Transition
Related:
Bab al-Mandab Strait: 2026-08-21 Yemen’s Houthis say they targeted Saudi airport, Aramco facility
Bab al-Mandab Strait: 2026-08-12 Houthi Red Sea attack kills six, injures several: Yemeni coast guard
Bab al-Mandab Strait: 2026-08-06 Houthis claim hitting two Saudi oil tankers in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, more Saudi tankers divert around Africa in response
Related:
Gulf of Aden: 2026-08-26 From Spoke to Hub: The Houthis in Africa
Gulf of Aden: 2026-08-25 They're back: Somali pirates have become even more cunning and dangerous
Gulf of Aden: 2026-08-24 Somalia-Pakistan Defence Ties Draw India’s Attention in the Indian Ocean
Link


International-UN-NGOs
Implications for Israel, India: Is the Mecca pact a dangerous piece of theatre?
2026-08-23
Long. You’ll want a cup of coffee and a bit of something to eat to accompany this one, dear Reader.
[Jpost] Israel and India's strongest response to a new security bloc may not be another bloc. It is the ability to stand independently and to have capable partners standing with you.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 6. The very following day, Saudi Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula, largely made up of sand and oil rigs. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual haj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Formerly dictatorial and steeped in Olde Tyme Religion, deferring to Salafist holy men on all issues, it has now done a 180 and is making a serious effort to modernize, so as not to be left in the sand by its Gulf Arab neighbors. The holy men have been shoved to the background and the nation is now still dictatorial but somewhat rational. That doesn't make them trustworthy, but it's a start...
, Pakistain, and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...a NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
member, but not the most reliable...

signed a mutual defense pact in Mecca. Does the sequence of events suggest a connection, or is it simply a coincidence?

There is no evidence the two events were connected. But the sequence is striking enough to deserve attention.

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement states that an armed attack against one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against all three, inviting comparisons with NATO's Article 5.

But is this really an Islamic NATO-type alliance?

Or is it, instead, an instrument of deterrence, political signaling, and strategic positioning?

For both Israel and India, that distinction matters. But first let us revisit some key events from last year.

FROM SAUDI-PAKISTAN TO A THREE-WAY PACT
The story began publicly in September 2025, when Saudi Arabia and Pakistain signed their Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement.

Saudi Arabia gained a deeper military relationship with Pakistain, the only openly nuclear-armed Moslem-majority country. Pakistain gained an even stronger strategic relationship with a wealthy and influential Gulf power.

Then Turkey entered the picture.

Pakistain's principal military adversary is India, while its relationship with Israel has long been openly hostile. For instance, Pak Defense Minister Khawaja Asif recently called for "Moslem countries to unite against Israel."

Turkey brings another dimension.

President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
has positioned Turkey as one of Israel's strongest political opponents over Gazoo and the Paleostinian issue. At the same time, Turkey is a NATO member and has developed an increasingly independent security role in the Moslem world.

Its growing defense relationship with Pakistain and repeated support for Pakistain's position on Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
add another layer.

India and Israel, meanwhile, are both strengthening defense relationships with Greece and Cyprus, countries with longstanding disputes with Turkey.

WHAT DOES ’AN ATTACK ON ONE IS AN ATTACK ON ALL’ ACTUALLY MEAN?
This terminology sounds like NATO.

But NATO's Article 5 does not automatically mean that every member goes to war when another is attacked. Members ultimately determine the nature of the response.

The Mecca agreement appears similarly flexible. Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has described its collective defense provision as technically comparable to Article 5, while stressing that the nature of assistance would depend on circumstances.

That leaves the crucial question:

What happens when the pact is actually tested?

Saudi Arabia has been attacked multiple times by Iran and Iranian proxies such as the Iran's Houthi sock puppets
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
s in Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
. If these attacks continue or escalate significantly, to what extent would Turkey and Pakistain be willing to support Saudi Arabia with weapons, intelligence, air defense systems, or troops? More importantly, under what circumstances, if any, would either country be willing to deploy forces and actually fight on Saudi territory?

That ambiguity may be deliberate. The pact may be intended primarily to deter an attack, but that deterrence depends on Iran believing Turkey and Pakistain would actually respond if Saudi Arabia were attacked.

The pact also offers these countries a chance to expand their influence in the Gulf and establish themselves as powers with a greater say in regional security. An attack on Saudi Arabia could therefore become far more complicated for Iran, potentially drawing Turkey and Pakistain into a confrontation alongside the US and Israel.

But economics may ultimately impose limits: Pakistain cannot afford a regional war, while Saudi Arabia itself depends heavily on stable trade, energy exports, and maritime routes. And if Turkey became embroiled in a conflict with Greece or Israel, this would raise an even more fundamental question: Would Pakistain really risk its own economic interests to follow Turkey into a wider war? These aspects will determine whether the agreement is a genuine security commitment or largely political theatre.

Saudi Arabia may be the most interesting member of the pact. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman

...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
, has spent years trying to transform the kingdom through Saudi Vision 2030, economic diversification, technology, and investment. Normalization with Israel once appeared compatible with that strategy.

However,
if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well...
Riyadh has tied any normalization with Israel to Paleostinian statehood, making the Paleostinian issue both a diplomatic condition and a source of political leverage. For Turkey and Pakistain, championing the Paleostinian cause also offers a way to strengthen their standing across the Moslem world while positioning themselves as independent regional powers.

The Moslem world, however, is far too fragmented for this to become a simple "Moslem countries unite against Israel" scenario.

The UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco, for example, are part of the Abraham Accords and have pursued normalized relations with Israel. At the same time, the UAE has also emerged as an increasingly important strategic partner of India.

A DIFFERENT MAP: FOLLOW THE MARITIME ROUTES
In matters concerning the Middle East, geography plays a significant role.

On a conventional map, the Mecca pact creates a striking triangle: Turkey to the north-west, Saudi Arabia to the south and Pakistain to the east. Strategically, those three countries occupy important positions across the region.

But geography looks different if we follow the maritime routes.

The critical question is not simply who controls territory, but who can help keep the sea lanes open.

The EU-India security and defense partnership specifically includes maritime security, while India and La Belle France have committed to deeper operational cooperation and freedom of navigation across the Indian Ocean and wider Indo-Pacific.

At the other end of this strategic arc, Israel's recognition of Somaliland
...Republic of Somaliland is an unrecognised sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, recognised internationally as a de jure part of Somalia. It is located in the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which united from 1960 to 1991 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. Under the Siad Barre regime, Somaliadestroyed ninety percent of Hargeisa Per international law, once you're in, you gotta stay in, no matter how bad it smells....
in December 2025 has given Jerusalem a new relationship in the Horn of Africa, directly adjacent to the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

This does not create a formal counter-alliance. But it produces a different strategic picture.

The Mecca pact may look powerful when drawn across the landmass. Still, the picture changes when the map is drawn along the maritime arteries connecting the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Mediterranean.

That is where India's relationships with Europe, Israel, the wider Gulf, and the Horn of Africa become increasingly significant.

IMPLICATIONS FOR INDIA AND ISRAEL
India and Israel are not members of a mutual-defense treaty. Yet their strategic partnership is far more substantial than that distinction suggests.

The relationship includes decades of defense cooperation, from the Barak-8/MRSAM air defense system to unmanned systems, radar, surveillance, precision weapons, electronic warfare, cyber, and intelligence cooperation.

More importantly, the relationship is moving from procurement toward industrial integration, with joint development, production, and technology cooperation becoming increasingly important.

That is the real strength of the partnership: reliability built over time rather than promises written on paper. This is what a strategic partnership looks like when it is built over time.

From Kargil
... three months of unprovoked Pak aggression, over 4000 dead Paks, another victory for India ...
to Uri and the security challenges following Pahalgam, India's experience has reinforced Israel's practical value as a dependable defense partner.

The relationship may not be a formal mutual-defense alliance, but it has demonstrated something that can matter more than treaty language: reliability when security is at stake.

The Mecca agreement should neither be dismissed nor exaggerated.

It may remain primarily a deterrence mechanism. It may be intended to strengthen the strategic positions of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistain. Or it may eventually become a genuine military commitment.

The greatest danger is not immediate war, but miscalculation.

Any future India-Pakistain crisis could become more dangerous if Ottoman Turkish commitments to Pakistain intersected with Israel's strategic relationship with India.

That makes Netanyahu's call with Modi on August 6, one day before the pact was announced, noteworthy. There is no evidence the events were connected. The coincidence is simply interesting.

But India and Israel do not need to respond with another bloc. They need greater strategic independence: deeper cooperation in missile defense, drones, cyber, AI, space, and other critical technologies, alongside stronger partnerships with pragmatic states such as the UAE, Europe, and countries across the wider Indian Ocean and Horn of Africa.

The Moslem world is not a unified bloc, and India and Israel should not treat it as one. Strengthen the economy at home, cooperate where interests align, protect vital maritime routes, and maintain enough strategic depth to avoid dependence on any single power.

The strongest response to a new security bloc is not necessarily another bloc. It is the ability to stand independently and to have capable partners standing with you.
Related:
Mecca: 2026-08-17 Erdogan Pushes for Egypt to Join New Defence Alliance as Saudi Concerns Grow
Mecca: 2026-08-15 Turning Turkey’s double bind against it: How Israel is outsmarting Erdogan - opinion
Mecca: 2026-08-15 Saudi Arabia blocks Egypt from joining new defence alliance
Link


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