Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan urged border troops to be ready to sacrifice their lives fighting the Iran-backed Houthis until the group is ousted from power, according to a statement published late Thursday by the Saudi state news agency.
The appeal follows weeks of escalating violence: the Houthis have attacked Saudi Arabia with salvos of missiles and drones, and Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces lost control of the Bab el-Mandeb waterway to the Houthis two weeks earlier, while observers have questioned whether Riyadh will launch a broader operation alongside those forces.
The rare, strongly worded statement drew on Quranic verses and recorded sayings of the Prophet Mohammad about sacrifice and defending God; it also urged troops to obey rulers and field commanders. Reuters said the appeal adds to a religiously centered Saudi narrative aimed at discrediting the Houthis, who follow a different sect of Islam.
