A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and reported by the Saudi Press Agency (WAAS) noted that: “As an extension of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s role in fostering dialogue and regional and international peace, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the visit by Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, and representatives of the countries of the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement to the Iranian capital, Tehran, to meet with senior Iranian officials, falls within the framework of the ongoing efforts by the countries of the Mecca Agreement, the Joint Defense Agreement, to de-escalate tensions between the parties to the current crisis, promote dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and support the mediation efforts undertaken by the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
However, on-the-ground reports and independent sources reveal that the visit comes after Riyadh realized the impossibility of militarily defeating the Yemeni Houthis, following unprecedented attacks by the Iran-backed group against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with the highest military spending in the Middle East and among Arab nations, at approximately $83.2 billion in 2025, while the 2026 state budget allocated approximately 240 billion riyals ($64 billion) to the military sector, according to defense budget estimates.
Despite this, Saudi Arabia failed to counter the threat from the Houthis, who announced that they were targeting an air base and a naval base in southern Saudi Arabia with “dozens of ballistic missiles,” in addition to Riyadh Airport, where aircraft were taking off and landing, according to their website.
Disruption in Saudi Arabia
Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saif stated that the group carried out “three significant operations involving dozens of ballistic missiles” at Riyadh Airport, Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait (south), and the Southern Naval Base of the Border Guard Forces in Jizan, where “the strike was precise, causing several deaths and injuries among Saudi enemy officers and soldiers.”
The closure of Riyadh Airport following the Houthi attacks dealt a major blow to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as a major investment conference and other events were canceled. Residents were forced to find alternative ways to travel.
Saudi officials did not provide additional information when the AFP news agency inquired about the resumption of flights at the airport. However, the flight-tracking website “Flight Radar” showed a small number of departures and the cancellation of a large number of flights, while the International Automobile Federation (FIA) announced on Saturday that the 2027 Saudi Dakar Rally, scheduled to take place from January 1 to 15, will not be held in Saudi Arabia due to events in the region.
The Asian Football Confederation also announced on Sunday the postponement of the match between the Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates national teams, scheduled for Monday in Riyadh, as part of the third round of the Asian Champions League.
The Stage Leading Up to the Collapse
Political analyst Abdul Qader Abu Lim asserts that “thanks to the betrayals of the Yemeni Reformist Brotherhood Party—which has been co-opted into the current Saudi system—Riyadh’s decisions are being condoned, even as it suffers the loss of powerful allies.”
He noted in a post that: “The Houthis managed to shift the battle from the stage of ‘breaking bones’ to the stage of pushing the Saudi regime toward war on the brink of the abyss—which is the final stage of the war before collapse—and this is what prompted the Saudi regime to visit Tehran, perhaps in hopes of finding a solution there.”
For his part, Yemeni journalist Fikri Saleh Hamlan asked: “How can Saudi Arabia sideline its sincere allies in Yemen, the South, and the United Arab Emirates, and meet with those who launched their planes and drones against them?”
He asserted in a post that “what is happening is not political maneuvering, but rather total submission to the conditions dictated by opponents following defeat on the ground and the loss of a reliable ally.”
Pakistan played a dual role, serving as both a staunch partner of Riyadh and an indirect channel of communication between Washington and Tehran, but the fighting that has erupted between the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen and Saudi forces is increasingly testing the extent to which Islamabad can continue to play both roles simultaneously.
According to Reuters, this conflict marks the first major test of the joint defense alliance signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey in August, as well as an existing defense agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh. Under this agreement, any armed attack against any of the three countries is considered an attack on all of them, but so far, the alliance has not been visible on the ground, while Saudi Arabia remains under fire from Houthi missiles.
Pakistani officials fear that Houthi threats could put Islamabad at greater risk of being dragged into the war following Iranian missile strikes against Saudi energy facilities earlier this year, according to Reuters.
The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia put this agreement to its first serious test, at a time when Riyadh is trying to prevent the clashes from spreading to its vital infrastructure.
Sources reveal that the visit by the parties to the Mecca Agreement is not for diplomatic purposes, as the Houthi attacks forced Riyadh to seek mediation after it failed to deter the group controlling Sana’a.
A Blow to the Allies
Meanwhile, these developments come after the Saudi kingdom turned against its allies in Yemen. This affects the United Arab Emirates and local powers, following the sacrifices they made to secure the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The United Arab Emirates and the southern powers—led by the Southern Transitional Council and its affiliated forces, such as the Security Belt, the Giants Brigades, and elite forces—played a pivotal role in the military and security landscape of southern Yemen.
Securing the southern governorates after their liberation was a major priority for the United Arab Emirates, especially since the temporary capital, Aden, and its surrounding areas experienced a significant security vacuum due to the war launched by the Houthi militia.
In 2016, the United Arab Emirates and local forces expelled al-Qaeda from Mukalla, the capital of Hadhramaut, after a year of control. The oil-rich province shares a direct border with Saudi Arabia to the north.
Following Saudi Arabia’s strike against its allies in late 2025, when southern forces were bombed, Erik Kalinak, Slovakia’s representative to the European Parliament warned that the withdrawal of Emirati forces from southern Yemen had created a dangerous security vacuum, threatening the world’s most vital shipping route—the Red Sea.
Speaking in the European Parliament, Kalinak noted that “when we talk about security, we simply cannot ignore the situation in Yemen. Emirati forces have withdrawn from the south and have just pulled out their last counterterrorism units, and this has created a dangerous vacuum in the world’s most important vital shipping route.”
In Saudi Arabia’s first test following the United Arab Emirates’ withdrawal, its forces retreated in the face of the Houthi group, which controlled only the western coast in the Bab al-Mandab area. Aden became a temporary capital with the landing of United Arab Emirates soldiers, who spearheaded the city’s liberation. The vanguard of the Emirati special forces participated in the liberation of Aden International Airport and in organizing the southern resistance forces against the Houthi militias and the Muslim Brotherhood’s infiltration, which enabled them to extend their control over the southern regions.