France announces troops to protect Saudi Arabia's Yanbu port as Riyadh rallies Turkey and Pakistan against the Houthis

On TF1 and France 2, Emmanuel Macron did not present the deployment of soldiers as a military choice, but as a means to influence prices at the pump: according to him, a relaxation in Yanbu would quickly impact the price of fuel in France, report RFI and Le Monde.

The president guaranteed the supply of "diesel, gas, and fuel oil" until the end of the year, without ruling out difficulties at the beginning of 2027 or a possible reduction in fuel taxes, according to Le Monde. He said he wanted to bring together the G7 countries to study the release of their strategic oil and gas reserves, and did not exclude the use of Rafale planes "as needed", according to RFI.

On BFMTV, former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin saw this move as a way for Macron to show his support for Riyadh. Socialist primary candidate Ségolène Royal, on the other hand, judged that the president's announcements on purchasing power would leave the French disappointed, according to BFMTV.

On the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pakistani Vice Prime Minister Ishaq Dar met with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, reports The Express Tribune. The three ministers discussed the establishment of the pact's institutional structures, according to Dar, who mentioned his "brothers" from Saudi Arabia and Turkey on network X.

The Mecca pact, signed on August 7, had been preceded by a bilateral mutual defense agreement between Islamabad and Riyadh, reports Geo News. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stated from New York that Iran had expressed no reservations about it, and that several Islamic countries wanted to join, according to ARY News.

The Saudi Civil Defense triggered and then lifted, in a matter of hours, an alert for Mecca, Jeddah, Taif, Yanbu, and Tabuk, asking residents to remain calm, not to film or gather, and to dial the emergency number 998, reports Asharq Al-Awsat.

The joint statement by the Saudi, Turkish, and Pakistani ministers in New York invokes Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to justify Riyadh's right to defend itself, according to Saudi Gazette.

Today's Saudi press, however, does not mention the French announcement of reinforcements to Yanbu: it highlights the pact with Ankara and Islamabad, as well as the interception capacity of its own defenses.

The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claims to have carried out two separate operations on Thursday: one against "an important facility" in Riyadh, the other against Aramco sites in Yanbu, using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, according to TASS.

Saree also claims that Saudi strikes in Yemen have resulted in civilian casualties, including women and children, according to his statements reported by TASS; no independent Saudi toll is cited in response.

On the ground, fighting has intensified since the collapse in July of a multi-year truce, with casualties on both sides recorded by the AFP from seven sources, according to the Straits Times and Channel News Asia. The Houthis are also maintaining a naval blockade targeting Saudi oil tankers, according to the same sources.

Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian denied on Thursday directing the Houthis, according to the Straits Times and Channel News Asia. The Daily Star also notes that the Houthis are accused of having targeted Mecca for the first time since 2017, and Riyadh for the first time in several years, while taking control of coastal areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait.