Saudi, Turkish, Pakistani representatives to meet amid Yemen fighting - Al Jazeera

Investing.com - Leaders from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are planning to meet to discuss ways to aid Riyadh under a joint defense agreement, according to Al Jazeera.

A statement released on Thursday announcing the gathering came after a meeting between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, as well as the deputy prime minister of Pakistan. The three countries signed the so-called Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August, under which an attack on one of the nations is considered a strike against them all.

No further details were provided about the timing of the meeting or what the support to Saudi Arabia would look like, Al Jazeera reported.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia said it had been targeted by a new wave of strikes from Yemen, where Saudi-aligned forces have been battling Iran-backed Houthi militants. Citing the Houthis, Al Jazeera reported that missile and drone attacks had targeted Riyadh and key oil production facilities in the critical Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have opened up a new front in a widening conflict in the Middle East, threatening crucial Gulf oil supply flows through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the process. An almost seven-month war between the U.S. and Iran has also left the nearby Strait of Hormuz virtually shuttered to tanker traffic, although reports have suggested that Asian imports have continued to find a way out of the region.

Over much of this week, hopes have swirled around an imminent breakthrough on a peace deal between U.S. and Iranian negotiators on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. But conflicting comments and reports about progress in the talks have kept investors uncertain about the trajectory of the war, sending oil prices on a wild rise as a result.

On Friday, crude prices retreated, as a rally was tempered by media reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of the conflict which would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its naval blockade on Iran.

Original Article

You May Also Be Interested In

• OpenAI nears $30 billion funding round at $1.25 trillion valuation
• Agnico, Barrick, and Newmont fall following broad Freedom Broker downgrades
• How should investors position for further equity gains, according to UBS?