A Houthi attack wounds eleven civilians in southern Saudi Arabia

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels attacked an area in southern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border on Thursday evening, wounding eleven civilians of four different nationalities. The attack comes amid escalating tensions since the start of the conflict between the United States and Iran in February.

Seven Saudis, two Egyptians, one Yemeni, and one Pakistani were wounded in the strike, according to General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Riyadh-led military coalition supporting the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels. He accused the Houthis of using "indiscriminate fire against civilian targets." Neither the militia nor Iran immediately responded to the statement.

Since the outbreak of the war between the United States and Iran last February, Tehran has targeted Saudi Arabia, which hosts American military installations. Less than three weeks ago, the Houthis proclaimed a naval blockade against the kingdom, a sign that the long-standing conflict between Riyadh and the Yemeni rebels is now intertwined with the broader regional war.

Amid this escalating climate, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan were expected to sign a joint defense agreement in Jeddah on Friday, according to sources cited by Reuters and AFP. The pact had been "under discussion for a long time," but recent developments in the region accelerated its finalization, a source close to the Saudi military told AFP.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Erdogan was expected in Jeddah on Friday, while Sharif and Pakistani Chief of Staff Asim Munir had already arrived in the kingdom on Thursday. Pakistan, the only Muslim-majority state with nuclear weapons, had already signed a bilateral defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, effective in 2025.