Fourteen countries issued a joint statement in Riyadh announcing a Saudi-led multinational maritime defense coalition to protect navigation through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden. [1] Friday the charter still sits without a published escort log.

The paper's Thursday brief already printed the fourteen without the patrol. The founding text called the group purely defensive, not directed against any country, and said participation remains a sovereign decision. Saudi Arabia is the lead nation and will host the permanent headquarters, command center, joint operations rooms, and general secretariat. [1]

The National reported a first meeting of military representatives from 43 nations in Riyadh after Houthis resumed attacks on shipping and announced a blockade of Saudi vessels. Yanbu became a vital oil artery after Hormuz closed. [2] TBS listed Turkiye, Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Somalia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Sudan, and the Comoros among participants; the UAE and Oman had not joined. [3]

X wants a US proxy. The statement wants escorts, intelligence sharing, and exercises. Those are not the same navy. A coalition that names corridors without naming sorties is still a press release. Friday prints the fourteen. It does not print the patrol. Yanbu still needs escorts, not another joint statement.

-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem