Yemen conflict escalating into regional war

The Houthis will “meet escalation with escalation” and could expand attacks to more Saudi airports, al-Bukhaiti has told RT.

“The door to escalation remains open to target other airports,” he said, urging international airlines to heed warnings for their safety.

He also warned employees of Saudi state oil giant Aramco to stay away from the company’s facilities.

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‘Muslim NATO’ activates force deployment over Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

Pakistan and Türkiye should stay out of the conflict or face a Houthi response, senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has told RT following the activation of Islamabad and Ankara’s collective-defense commitments with Saudi Arabia.

“We will be forced to defend ourselves against any participation from any other country, whether Islamic or non-Islamic, Arab or non-Arab,” he said, urging both governments to reconsider and arguing that foreign involvement would not shift the military balance in Riyadh’s favor.

Senior Houthi political official and spokesperson Mohammed al-Bukhaiti has denied Yemeni government claims of recapturing Mocha and securing Bab el-Mandeb.

He told RT that opposing forces briefly advanced near Dhubab airport, north of the strait, but were subsequently driven back.

“The enemy never reached the Bab el-Mandeb area,” he said, adding that government forces had not entered Mocha either. He argued that the offensive would prompt the Houthis to expand their control around the strait to establish a buffer zone.

More than 270 Yemeni government troops and Iran-backed Houthi fighters have been killed over the past 24 hours as hostilities escalate, sources on both sides told AFP on Tuesday.

The outlet reported, citing anonymous government officials, that Yemen’s forces lost 115 troops, with dozens more wounded in fighting, as well as Houthi missile and drone attacks.

Videos shared by the Houthis purportedly show ballistic strikes against vehicles used by Saudi-backed armed groups in Ras Al-Arah in southern Yemen.

Yemen has become “a kind of Vietnam for Saudi Arabia,” political scientist Dr. Mehmet Rakipoglu told RT, arguing that Riyadh has failed to defeat the Houthis despite a decade of military involvement.

He cautioned that activating the Mecca defense pact does not mean automatic deployment, stressing that Türkiye and Pakistan have agreed to send forces to Saudi Arabia, rather than Yemen.

Rakipoglu described Ankara’s approach as “strategic patience,” arguing that it wants to determine the timing and form of any confrontation on its own terms.

Pakistan is “fully on board” with military support for Saudi Arabia and has taken Houthi warnings seriously, veteran Pakistani newspaper editor Kaswar Klasra told RT, pointing to repeated visits by Pakistan’s military chief to Riyadh and Istanbul and Islamabad’s pledge to defend the kingdom.

“The Saudi conflict is not only between Saudi Arabia and Houthis,” Klasra said, arguing that the Mecca pact makes Pakistan a party to the confrontation and also involves Türkiye.

What is the ‘Muslim NATO’ Mecca defense pact?

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Have Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia just launched an ‘Islamic NATO’?

The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed in August, links Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan under a collective-defense pledge, which treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. It has been widely dubbed “Muslim NATO” for its similarity to the Western military bloc’s Article 5.

On Monday, the three countries agreed to implement collective-defense measures and arrange the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia following Houthi attacks.

However, deployments remain subject to national laws and agreed arrangements. No troop numbers or timetable were announced, and the decision does not confirm Turkish or Pakistani participation in fighting inside Yemen.

Oil could reach $200 a barrel if Middle Eastern shipments are disrupted again, Vitol CEO Russell Hardy has warned.

The world’s largest independent oil trader’s chief said increased Gulf exports after months of disruption from the US-Israeli war on Iran were preventing a price surge. However, tankers transferring cargoes outside Hormuz face lengthy waits, reducing vessel availability and raising costs.

Western stockpiles cushioning the shortfall have also been depleted, he warned, with fuel supplies likely to remain tight into winter.

The G7 and its partners have announced a release of 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency reserves.

The Arab League has condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s Jazan and Najran airports, saying they endangered passengers and staff and constituted “a flagrant violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty.”

In a statement shared on X, the 22-member bloc warned that continued escalation threatens neighboring countries and international waterways, while reaffirming support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government.