Aden (South24 Center)

Military commanders from 12 countries participating in a defensive maritime coalition met in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, July 30, to discuss cooperation aimed at protecting shipping through the Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, amid rising tensions between Riyadh and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

The Kuwaiti military said its chief of staff attended the meeting and stressed the need to strengthen coordination among coalition members to safeguard freedom of navigation through the strategic waterway.

Saudi Arabia established the coalition to protect vessels transiting the Bab Al-Mandab and the Red Sea against mounting threats. A group photograph released by the Bahrain Defence Force showed military chiefs of staff, or their representatives, from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, Yemen, Sudan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and New Zealand.

Few details have been released about the coalition’s command structure, operational mandate or the nature of its planned deployments.

The meeting followed the Houthis’ declaration of what they described as a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and their claims of attacks on Saudi-linked vessels in the Red Sea.

Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi warned Thursday that his group would respond with “comprehensive escalation” if Saudi Arabia intensified its military operations. He also claimed the group had forced 16 Saudi vessels to turn back, a figure that could not be independently verified.

The tensions have also spread beyond Yemen. Reuters reported Thursday, citing two regional sources, that the Houthis had taken part in attacks on Saudi Arabia launched from Iraqi territory in coordination with Iran-aligned Iraqi armed groups.

The maritime meeting followed talks in Washington between Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

According to Axios, the Saudi minister said Riyadh favored de-escalation with Iran but remained prepared to defend itself. He added that the kingdom was capable of managing the confrontation with the Houthis at this stage without direct U.S. intervention.