Saudi Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced, in a surprising move, that an Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism was formed on Dec. 14. He mentioned Syria and Iraq at the top of the list of countries where the coalition aspires to combat terrorism.

On the same day, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir explained in a press statement that the coalition’s mission is to share information, and train and equip the forces for the fight against the Islamic State (IS). In regard to the possibility of sending troops to countries dealing with terrorism, he said that the coalition will discuss this, and that it depends on “needs” and “requests.”

“Nothing is off the table,” Jubeir said when asked whether the initiative could include troops on the ground, noting that “it depends on the requests made, the needs and the willingness of countries to provide the necessary support.”

In this context, a question arises as to what are the Saudi motives behind the coalition. The coalition was designed to fight against IS, which is active in Iraq and Syria more than anywhere else. Yet Iraq and Syria have not been called to join the coalition, and until the coalition was announced, Iraq and Syria were not involved in the coordination talks with the coalition. Thus, how could this coalition be a unified front to fight against IS, while the countries that are at the front line in the battles against IS have not been called to join?