Qatar and Turkiye Sign Mutual Defence Pact as Fighting Displaces 340,000 in Yemen

Qatar and Turkiye put their names to a mutual defence pact, pledging to stand together against outside attack. The deal commits both sides to what they described as a unified stance in confronting any external armed attack targeting either party or both of them.

The signing lands as Yemen's war grinds on. The UN's International Organization for Migration says 340,000 people have been forced out of their homes amid the fighting.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group fired missiles at Riyadh airport and at a pumping station serving the East-West pipeline.

In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said two tankers exploded and caught fire after striking naval mines. The IRGC's account puts the blasts squarely on mines in the waterway.

Together the developments mark a sharp escalation across the region: a new Gulf defence alignment, a mass displacement in Yemen, strikes deep into Saudi infrastructure and burning tankers in the world's most-watched oil chokepoint.