Saudi Arabia has established a 14-nation alliance to combat Houthi rebels following a period of escalating regional violence. The coalition, announced on Thursday, includes several Muslim-majority nations and the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
The 14-Nation Alliance and the Absence of the UAE
The newly formed coalition comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, and the recognized Yemeni government. According to the report, this group represents only a fraction of the original outreach, as only 14 of the 43 countries invited to the Riyadh meeting ultimately joined the alliance.
The composition of the group is particularly striking due to who is missing. the United Arab Emirates and Oman—both Gulf nations with deep historical involvement in Yemeni affairs—did not join the coalition. While the United States attended the Thursday meeting and intends to provide support through existing military partnerships, Washington declined to become a formal member of the alliance.
From the July 13 Sanaa Airport Bombing to Red Sea Blockades
The push toward direct combat follows a period of frozen conflict that shattered earlier this month. As reported, the Saudi Air Force bombed Sanaa Airport on July 13 in an attempt to intercept a Houthi delegation returning from the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Houthi rebels responded with a series of aggressive escalations, including a ballistic missile strike on Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport. This was followed by the declaration of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia and a wave of attacks targeting both Red Sea shipping lanes and Saudi oil infrastructure, forcing Riyadh to seek a broader international security umbrella.
An $80 Billion Defense Budget and the 2025 Spending Surge
To support this new offenisve,Saudi Arabia has fundamentally restructured its military apparatus. The kingdom has implemented a new national defense strategy, a joint operations command, and a joint staff to correct failures seen during previous phases of the Yemeni Civil War. These reforms are backed by a massive financial commitment;the Saudi defense budget rose from $64 billion in 2016 to $80 billion in 2024.
This spending spree has propelled Saudi Arabia to become the third-largest arms importer globally and the fifth-biggest defense spender for 2025.. In terms of the percentage of GDP dedicated to military spending, the report notes that Saudi Arabia is now surpassed only by Ukraine, reflecting a total mobilization of resources to modernize its ground, air, and naval forces.
Can Turkey and Egypt Offset Somalia's Naval Deficits?
Despite the scale of the coalition, the operational capability of the alliance is uneven. the group includes Somalia,which remains a largely failed state, and Sudan, which is currently paralyzed by a stalemate in its own civil war. These members bring litttle to no reliable naval power to the effort.
The burden of maritime security will likely fall on Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan, who possess modern and massive navies. however, the Houthi rebels have already proven their resilience, having evaded defeat from 2023 to 2025 against a coalition that included the United States. This leaves a critical question: why did the UAE and Oman choose to opt out of this specific arrangement, and can a fragmented coalition of 14 nations achieve what more concentrated naval powers could not?
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