As the Mecca Agreement fails to shield Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has turned to Europe for assistance.
With Saudi Arabia running low on air-defence interceptors, MBS has reached out for support from countries ranging from Egypt to the United Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia has asked the United Kingdom, France, and Egypt to provide air-defence support as the kingdom runs low on interceptor missiles, The Associated Press reported two regional officials as saying.
AdvertisementThe desperate plea comes as the Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthis have plunged Saudi Arabia into its most precarious security situation in years.
The Guardian has reported that American officials met Houthi leaders over the weekend in Oman and received assurances that their conflict was with Saudi Arabia, not the United States, and that assurances drove Trump's decision to not help Saudi Arabia.
As the Mecca Agreement fails to shield Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has turned to Europe for assistance. With Saudi Arabia running low on air-defence interceptors, MBS has reached out for support from countries ranging from Egypt to the United Kingdom.
Despite signing the Mecca Agreement to manage precisely the kind of crisis Saudi Arabia is now facing, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been forced to seek help from neighbouring states and European countries to defend the kingdom against Houthi attacks.
Saudi Arabia has asked the United Kingdom, France, and Egypt to provide air-defence support as the kingdom runs low on interceptor missiles, The Associated Press reported two regional officials as saying.
According to the sources, Saudi Arabia has also reached out to Pakistan, but the AP reported a Pakistani official as saying that the country had not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis' attacks.
Advertisement
The desperate plea comes as the Iran-backed, Yemen-based Houthis have plunged Saudi Arabia into its most precarious security situation in years. After declaring a blockade of the kingdom, the Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks. Their barrage on Tuesday forced the closure of the kingdom's main international airport in Jeddah as alerts were issued in many other cities. On Wednesday, the Saudis accused the Houthis of launching a drone attack on Mecca.
More from World More from World
ALSO READ: Despite ‘Mecca Agreement’, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey are far from setting up ‘Islamic Nato’
Saudi Arabia is facing a double whammy as both of his security guarantors —the traditional guarantor, the United States, and Pakistan and Turkey under the Mecca Agreement— have not been useful as the kingdom is under attack from the Houthis. According to Axios, he has repeatedly asked US President Donald Trump to launch strikes against the Houthis, but the requests have been denied.
Trump cuts deal with Houthis
Saudi Arabia is in a "very difficult position" because it must protect not only its military bases and key government installations but also oil facilities across the kingdom, a regional official told the AP.
Advertisement
Attacks by Houthis and other Iranian proxies in the region have forced the closure of the Saudi East-West pipeline, which accounts for around 4 per cent of the world's oil supply. With the Strait of Hormuz already choked for months, the Houthis' newfound chokehold on the Red Sea has further choked Saudi energy exports and disrupted global shipping and energy supplies.
Saudi Arabia has been forced to seek external assistance because the United States neither has the capacity, with its own stockpiles running low, nor the intention to become directly involved in the Houthi-Saudi confrontation.
The Guardian has reported that American officials met Houthi leaders over the weekend in Oman and received assurances that their conflict was with Saudi Arabia, not the United States, and that assurances drove Trump's decision to not help Saudi Arabia.
With the Mecca alliance effectively sidelined, at least for now, and Trump having struck a deal with the Houthis, Saudi Arabia is seeking to rally partners behind a collective response to the group, according to the AP.
But an official told the news agency that MBS is giving diplomacy a chance and has turned to Oman and Egypt to help broker a de-escalation.
