Iran War Live Updates: Saudis Form Military Alliance to Protect Red Sea Shipping

As the war between the United States and Iran widened, Saudi Arabia joined with over a dozen other countries, including Egypt and Turkey, to form a new defense coalition to stop attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Vivian Nereim Max Bearak and Caroline Houck Saudi Arabia said on Thursday it was forming a military coalition to protect shipping, as attacks in the Red Sea and the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran further rattle the global economy. Fourteen countries affirmed their support for the new maritime coalition, the Saudi defense ministry said in a statement. It remains unclear how the coalition will operate, and which ships or aircraft participating countries would contribute. The new initiative comes as the Houthis, an Iranian-backed Yemeni militia, have targeted Saudi vessels in the Red Sea, which has became a vital route for oil exports during the war.

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