Foreign Relations

Saudi Arabia Announces 14-Nation Alliance to Protect Red Sea Shipping

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Courtroom-sketch editorial illustration of Saudi special-forces soldiers in maroon berets standing in formation with rifles.

Saudi Arabia announced plans for a 14-country maritime defense coalition focused on the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Gulf of Aden. The Defense Ministry said the initiative is defensive and open to other willing states after a Riyadh meeting that drew military representatives from 43 countries and the European Union. Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan are among the supporters, while Oman and the United Arab Emirates did not back the statement. The coalition aims to protect navigation, trade routes and energy corridors threatened by Iran-backed Houthi attacks and the blockade the group declared against Saudi shipping.

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