Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan called on soldiers stationed along the kingdom’s borders to be prepared to sacrifice themselves in confronting the Iran-backed Houthi group until its control was ended, in a statement issued on Thursday evening, 24 September 2026. The statement cited Quranic verses and prophetic hadiths on sacrifice and defence.
Statement calls for confronting the Houthis and protecting the kingdom
The statement said protecting the kingdom and punishing anyone who tried to harm any part of its territory were among the greatest duties, stressing that restoring the internationally recognised Yemeni government’s authority over the entire country represented “one of the most obligatory duties”. It called for defeating the Houthis and those supporting them and protecting Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The message came after weeks of escalation involving Houthi missile and drone attacks on the kingdom, alongside Saudi air strikes.
It came amid questions over the possibility of Riyadh expanding its operations in cooperation with Yemeni government forces, which lost control of the Bab al-Mandab strait about two weeks ago.
Fighting resumed after a relative lull since 2022, as part of a Yemeni conflict that began 12 years ago and was linked to broader regional tensions.
