The United Nations Security Council was set to meet on Tuesday to discuss the escalating situation in the Arabian Peninsula after the Iran-backed Houthi terror group in Yemen took control of the country’s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources.
France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Security Council for September, requested the afternoon briefing at U.N. headquarters in New York. According to the U.N. website, a discussion on the situation in the Middle East was slated for 3 p.m. EDT.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait has become a crucial alternate shipping route due to ongoing Iranian attacks on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz.
Air-raid alerts activated in Mecca amid Houthi escalation
Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued an emergency warning for Mecca on Tuesday over a “potential danger,” reportedly marking the first such alert in the Islamic holy city during the current escalation with the Houthi terror group.
Similar alerts were issued for Jeddah, Taif, Yanbu, Abha, Jazan and AlUla. Authorities later gave the all-clear in Mecca and the other locations.
Saudi crown prince meets CENTCOM chief as Houthi attacks intensify
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday as Houthi attacks on the kingdom intensified, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said. The two discussed bilateral relations and regional developments.
Washington has so far resisted Saudi requests for direct military intervention beyond intelligence support, Reuters reported. The Saudi-led coalition said 13 civilians were wounded Monday in Houthi missile and drone attacks on southern Saudi Arabia.
Vance: US ‘on top of’ Houthi activity in Red Sea
U.S. Vice President JD Vance told reporters on Monday that the Trump administration is “very much on top of” the recent island captures and military expansion of the Houthi terror group in Yemen.
“We’ve been in constant contact with the Emiratis and the Saudis and others” in the region,” Vance said. “We’ve also been engaged in direct conversation with the Houthis themselves, so we actually feel like we are on top of the situation.”
“It’s a very fluid and dynamic thing,” the vice president said, per the pool report. “We want to keep on monitoring it.”
The Houthis said they captured more islands on Monday, strengthening their control over the strait.
Gulf states, Iran postpone talks
Talks between Persian Gulf states and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and establish future frameworks have been postponed, multiple officials said on Monday.
Badr Albusaidi, foreign minister of Oman, stated it was “in the interests of consensus,” and Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said that the talks were postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request due to “the situation in Yemen.”
Saudi Arabia and the Houthi terror group in Yemen have exchanged fire since July.
