Saudi Arabia sets up maritime defense alliance to secure Red Sea
Vessels transit the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the coast of southern Yemen on July 25, 2026.(AFP)
Saudi Arabia has announced it had set up a maritime defense alliance to secure navigation around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, saying that Türkiye is among the countries supporting the initiative.
The move comes after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said last week they were imposing a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, and claimed attacks targeting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and oil infrastructure in the kingdom.
The narrow maritime artery has been a critical waterway for delivering vast quantities of Saudi crude to the international market, after energy exports from the Gulf were largely choked off the U.S.-Iranian standoff in the Strait of Hormuz.
