EU-Gulf meet deferred as Saudi Arabia faces attacks

The Saudi-led military coalition fighting Ansar Allah in Yemen on Thursday said it had intercepted a cruise missile in the Medina region, home to one of Islam's holiest cities, but Ansar Allah denied carrying out any such attack. "Interception and destruction of a cruise missile in the Medina region," coalition spokesman Turki al Malki wrote on X, with the statement also published by state media.

Ansar Allah quickly responded by saying it did not target the region on Thursday, and had previously vowed to spare the holy cities of Medina and Mecca. Its military spokesman Yahya Saree wrote on X that the group had not carried out any operation targeting Saudi territory on Thursday, and called the claims of an attack on Medina a lie.

Medina, the burial place of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and home to the Prophet's Mosque, is one of Islam's holiest cities alongside Mecca. Ansar Allah has vowed to continue targeting airports and other sites across Saudi Arabia, but on Sunday said Mecca and Medina would be spared.

Summit postponed

Separately, a summit between the European Union and Gulf countries in Riyadh has been postponed, Brussels said on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia faces sustained attacks from Ansar Allah. "The second Summit between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, originally planned for 24 October 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been postponed," said the European Council, representing the 27-nation bloc's member states. "A new date will be announced in due course."

The EU has sought to bolster trade and security ties with the GCC, whose members are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The meeting was supposed to act as a catalyst, coming as the war in the Middle East batters Gulf economies and threatens Europe's energy supplies, but the security situation in Saudi Arabia appears to have forced a postponement.

Saudi Arabia has in recent days come under sustained attack from Ansar Allah, including a strike on Riyadh's international airport that was the kingdom's deadliest in years, as the war with the group escalates. Riyadh has hit back with strikes against the group's stronghold in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. On Wednesday, Ansar Allah said it had targeted facilities belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco, with Saudi officials reporting a strike on a building in an area housing the energy giant's operations centre.

"The partnership between the EU and the GCC is of great strategic importance to both regions. The EU remains committed to deepening this partnership and sustaining the momentum built since the first Summit in October 2024," the European Council said.

The Saudi-led coalition has supported Yemen's government militarily against Ansar Allah since 2015 in a long-running civil war that has created a humanitarian crisis. — AFP