Amid escalation with Houthis: Saudi Arabia to sign defense agreement with Turkey and Pakistan

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defense agreement today, amid escalation with the Houthis in Yemen and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Saudi Arabia warned of a possible coordinated attack against civilian targets, after a Houthi attack in the south of the kingdom wounded 11 people yesterday. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif landed in the kingdom, and Turkey's President Erdogan is expected to arrive today.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan are expected to sign a joint defense agreement today (Friday), according to Reuters. The agreement comes amid escalation with the Houthis in Yemen and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, which Saudi Arabia warned could soon launch a coordinated attack against civilian targets in the kingdom, including energy facilities, ports, and airports. This follows a Houthi attack in the Najran province in southern Saudi Arabia that wounded 11 people yesterday, including seven Saudi civilians, a Yemeni citizen, two Egyptians, and a Pakistani citizen, as well as a four-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns. A senior Saudi official told Reuters that intelligence information gathered by Saudi Arabia, the United States, and other Middle Eastern countries indicates the possibility that the Houthis and Iraqi militias, under the supervision of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, could soon launch coordinated attacks against targets in Saudi Arabia. According to him, the threat is particularly concerning given Riyadh's efforts to promote calm and a political settlement in the war with Iran. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in the kingdom yesterday, and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to arrive today. The details of the agreement have not yet been published. Between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, there is already an agreement for security cooperation. Saudi Arabia's decade-long conflict with the Houthis is increasingly intertwined with the broader regional war against Iran. The Houthis claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on the airport in Najran, and on Thursday more than 30 soldiers of the Yemeni government forces were killed in Houthi attacks in the Marib and Hadramawt provinces. The Iraqi militias have also entered a direct confrontation with Saudi Arabia, after on July 29 Riyadh carried out strikes against Iran-backed organizations in Iraq.