Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority, Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan, has called on soldiers in the Kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Houthis amid escalating attacks by the Iran-backed militia.
In a rare and strongly worded message carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Grand Mufti addressed troops stationed along the country’s borders with Yemen, reports Arab News.
“Protecting this great nation and punishing anyone who seeks to lay a hand on even an inch of its territory are among the greatest duties and most virtuous acts of devotion, for which lives and souls may be sacrificed in seeking God’s pleasure,” Sheikh Saleh said.
The statement drew heavily on Qur’anic verses and recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad related to sacrifice and struggle in defence of God.
The appeal follows weeks of escalating violence between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, during which the militia launched salvos of missiles and drones into the Kingdom, prompting retaliatory Saudi airstrikes.
In recent weeks, Saudi state television broadcast footage of an alleged Houthi strike on a mosque in southern Saudi Arabia, while authorities have also accused the group of launching an attack on Makkah, Islam’s holiest site.
Addressing frontline personnel directly, the Grand Mufti urged troops to remain constantly prepared, obey their rulers and field commanders, and execute orders with the utmost precision.
He said service members on the front lines are following in the footsteps of the Prophet’s companions in safeguarding the sacred sites of Muslims.
Meanwhile, Houthi forces have seized large parts of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, including the strategic port city of Mokha, the coastal town of Dhubab, and key islands in and around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
By securing strategic Red Sea islands, the militia has gained effective control over the Yemeni side of the Bab al-Mandab, positioning itself to threaten or disrupt maritime shipping passing between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Bab al-Mandab Strait represents a vital global chokepoint allowing vessels to reach the Suez Canal and European markets without navigating through the Strait of Hormuz.
With maritime transit already affected by conflict and Iranian restrictions around Hormuz, these territorial gains have heightened global concerns regarding international trade and energy supplies.
The recent clashes mark the latest chapter in Yemen’s 12-year civil war, which had largely been frozen under a United Nations-brokered truce in 2022 but has since re-escalated in connection with the broader conflict involving Iran.
Concluding his message, Sheikh Saleh prayed for divine protection for Saudi Arabia and Yemen, asking for “the complete defeat of the Houthi group and those who assist and support them.”
