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November 6, 2026

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Breaking | Last Updated: November 5, 2026, 3:56 pm

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Security forces stand guard in front of a banner showing the Kaaba during a protest by supporters of the Houthi authorities against the Saudi intervention in Yemen and against Saudi Arabia's recent accusation that the Houthis fired at the holy city of Mecca, in Sanaa on Sept. 18, 2026.

Russian satellite data helped Yemen’s Houthis target Saudi Arabia: What to know

A report by The Associated Press found evidence that Russian satellites helped Yemen’s Houthis identify and target specific sites, including energy facilities and military bases, in Saudi Arabia.

Egyptian soldiers man an infantry fighting vehicle

Explainer

As parliament approves, what's driving Egypt's 'defensive' support to Saudi Arabia?

Egypt, which has one of the region's largest militaries, is reliant on Saudi investment and ties the kingdom's security to its own.

A man looks at a screen displaying the flight schedule at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, on Oct. 12, 2026, as Saudi Arabia-bound flights remain canceled a day after a Houthi strike at Riyadh's international airport.

Riyadh airport reopening faces turbulence as Houthis claim new strikes

A trickle of flights landed and departed from the Saudi capital on Monday as the Houthis continued to threaten aviation in the Gulf state.

Latest News

US issues travel advisories across Middle East citing Houthi threat

Destroyed military vehicles reportedly belonging to Saudi-backed forces

Aramco evacuates staff as Saudi Arabia braces for potential Houthi escalation: What to know

AFPTV / AFP via Getty Images

France’s Macron first Western leader to visit Saudi Arabia since Houthi escalation

Benoit Tessier / AFP via Getty Images

Yemen displacement tops 250K as Houthis tighten siege on Taiz: What to know

Yemenis line up to refill gas bottles at a refilling station in Taiz, on Oct. 19, 2026.

Southern Movement militants man a weapon in the Jabal al-Ierr area of Yemen's southern Lahej province, as they prepare to secure the area against Shi'ite Houthi fighters, March 7, 2015. Most of Yemen has been left without state services or authority, and deadly violence is a daily occurrence as Houthis, state security forces, tribesmen, southern separatists and al Qaeda militants clash with each other. REUTERS/Stringer (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4SG0C

Saudi anguish over Iranian gains

The withdrawal of the remaining US military personnel from Yemen only adds to Riyadh's desperation, with Riyadh worried that Washington's priority is a nuclear deal with Tehran, not stopping Iranian subversion in the Arab world.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attends the closing session of 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit in Kathmandu November 27, 2014. A brief meeting between India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart appears to have salvaged a summit of South Asian leaders, with all eight countries clinching a last-minute deal to create a regional electricity grid.
REUTERS/Niranjan Shrestha/Pool (NEPAL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4FUCN

Pakistan declines to join Saudi Arabia's anti-Iran alliance

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected, at least for now, Saudi Arabia's entreaties for Pakistani troops to help guard the Saudi border with northern Yemen, controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi Shiite forces.

A female journalist stands among her male counterparts during the fourth congress of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate in Sanaa March 14, 2009. Around 1,200 journalists from across Yemen attended the meeting to elect a new chairman for their syndicate and 12 members for its executive council. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN MEDIA POLITICS) - RTXCRLM

Maysaa Shuja al-Deen on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Maysaa Shuja al-Deen shares her thoughts on journalism.

Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud at Diriyah Farm in Diriyah March 5, 2015. Kerry met Gulf Arab foreign ministers in Riyadh on Thursday to brief them on progress in the nuclear talks with Iran and offer reassurance that any deal would not damage their interests. Kerry arrived in Riyadh late on Wednesday from Montreux, Switzerland, where he said he had made progress in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that aim to conclude an atomic deal b

Saudi Arabia prepares for Iran nuclear deal

Saudi Arabia has been pulling out the diplomatic stops in an effort to contain Iran in anticipation of what it sees as an unfavorable nuclear deal between the West and the Islamic republic.

Women take part in an anti-Houthi demonstration in Sanaa February 21, 2015. Yemen's former president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left his official residence after weeks of house arrest by the Houthi militia on Saturday and flew to his home town of Aden, witnesses and a political source said. The posters read: "Release the legitimate president!" (L) and "Release the president and ministers!" REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4QI2I

What a Houthi-controlled Yemen means for women

Female activists in Yemen say that their situation under the Houthis’ control of the country is much worse than before the 2011 protest, when women were able to achieve significant gains.

Houthi fighters stand on a truck as they secure a street where pro-Houthi protesters demonstrated to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the uprising that toppled former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Sanaa February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4P71Q

Does Iran really control Yemen?

Statements by Iranian officials about the importance of the rise of Houthis in Yemen demonstrates that Iran would like to give the perception that there is a new member of the axis of resistance.

Could Israel’s strike on Hezbollah in Syria spark Iran nuclear talks?

The latest Israel-Hezbollah confrontation might be a catalyst for a nuclear deal between the P5+1 and Iran; Iran can ease Saudi Arabia’s security predicament; Netanyahu sees electoral gain in snubbing Obama.

A Houthi fighter mans a checkpoint on a road leading to the U.S embassy in Sanaa January 21, 2015. Yemen's minority Shi'ite Houthi fighters took up guard at President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's home on Wednesday but said they had not toppled him, after two days of fighting which left little doubt that the enfeebled leader was now at their mercy. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR4MBMY

Yemen falls apart

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah and the resignation of Yemen's President makes Yemen the first priority for Saudi's new King Salman.

Houthi fighters secure an entrance to the presidential palace in Sanaa January 22, 2015. A senior official of Yemen's Houthi movement said on Thursday that a statement by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi aimed at defusing a political crisis was acceptable because it confirmed the terms of a power-sharing agreement signed in September. Witnesses said Houthi fighters remained in position outside the presidential palace and Hadi's private residence, where the head of state actually lives. Hadi in his statement

US maintains intelligence relationship with Houthis

Despite alarmist news reports, the Barack Obama administration appears to have adjusted to the rise of the Houthis in Yemen and is continuing attacks on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Yemeni society changes before photographer's lens

Yemeni photographer Abdul Rahman Al Ghabri speaks to Al-Monitor about his work and how it reflects the changes in Yemeni society.

Did Nasrallah blur red line on Assad?

Hezbollah’s leader says a political solution could include Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s departure “after the end of his term”; Kerry supports Russia, UN diplomacy on Syria; Who does Israel back in Syria?; Did Turkey arm Jabhat al-Nusra?; Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen.

A boy holds up flags of the Shi'ite Houthi movement during a ceremony commemorating the birth of Prophet Mohammed in Sanaa January 3, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: RELIGION ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4JYNI

Iran’s shallow influence in Yemen

Iran believes its influence is spreading to a new country with the rise of the Houthis in Yemen in September 2014; however, Yemen is different from other Iranian-influenced countries (Syria, Lebanon and Iraq), where sectarian compositions differ.