Skip next section What you need to know
What you need to know
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a joint defense pact
- Dozens of Yemeni troops killed in ongoing missile and drone attacks by Houthis
- Riyadh reports 11 civilians injured after ‘indiscriminate shelling against civilian objects’
Here is a roundup of top stories from and about the Middle East on Friday, August 7:
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Skip next section Ships passing through Hormuz down to eight on Thursday 08/07/2026August 7, 2026
Ships passing through Hormuz down to eight on Thursday
Maritime intelligence provider Kpler said that only eight ships passed through the contested Strait of Hormuz on Thursday.
That number is down from a daily average of 13 last week, and down from more than 100 a day prior to US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28.
Last week’s better numbers relied on a framework agreement between the US and Iran that saw a slight respite from hostilities.
But the collapse of the agreement, as well as renewed blockades, have again brought global shipping to a standstill.
“Dry bulk traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been cut roughly in half following the renewed blockade,” wrote shipping services provider AXSMarine on X.
Though Iran wields leverage over the strait, satellite images show the US blockade of Iranian ports is also having an impact.
According to shipping data provider Windward, it has been weeks since any ships have docked at Tehran’s key oil export hub Kharg Island.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IRpBSkip next section Iran-backed Houthis kill dozens of Yemeni troops in ongoing attacks — reports08/07/2026August 7, 2026
Iran-backed Houthis kill dozens of Yemeni troops in ongoing attacks — reports
Dmytro Hubenko Editor
Iran-backed Houthi rebels killed scores of Yemeni government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday and Friday, with France’s AFP reporting 61 soldiers dead in multiple attacks.
A rebel spokesman said the attacks were in response to increased Saudi Arabian military support for Yemen’s internationally recognized government and its forces.
Saudi Arabia’s military backing of the Yemenis since 2015 and alliance with the US have marked it for attack by both the Houthis and Iran.
Thursday’s ballistic missile and drone attacks injured dozens of troops beyond the 58 reported dead, in what Yemeni military sources called the worst attack on troops since 2022.
The Yemeni Ministry of Defense said in a statement that a military response would come, “at the appropriate place and time.”
Thursday’s attack occurred amid a series of air assaults, including one that wounded 11 civilians in the Najran region.
On Friday, three more troops were killed and four more injured when Houthis targeted Yemeni soldiers in Marib province.
The Red Sea and Yemen have become more hotly contested than ever since the Houthis leaned into the US-Iran war, helping Tehran leverage the situation in the Strait of Hormuz — and its impact on the global economy.
The expected joint defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan is a direct response to the changing security situation in the broader Middle East.
https://p.dw.com/p/5IRYSSkip next section Houthi militia attack wounds 11 in Saudi Arabia08/07/2026August 7, 2026
Houthi militia attack wounds 11 in Saudi Arabia
An attack by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis late on Thursday wounded 11 civilians in southern Saudi Arabia near the Yemeni border, a military official said.
The attack injured seven Saudis, two Egyptians, a Yemeni and a Pakistani, according to General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition supporting Yemen‘s government against the Shiite Houthi rebels.
He accused the rebels of “using indiscriminate shelling against civilian objects.”
Neither the militia or Iran immediately responded to the coalition’s statement.
Tehran has targeted Saudi Arabia since the US-Iran war started this February, as its regional archrival hosts US military facilities. Less then three weeks ago, the Houthi militants in Yemen declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, signaling that Riyadh’s long-running conflict with the Houthis in Yemen is becoming increasingly intertwined with the wider Middle East war.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IQM7Skip next section Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan to sign defense deal, sources say08/07/2026August 7, 2026
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan to sign defense deal, sources say
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were expected to sign a defense agreement in Jeddah on Friday amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, Reuters and AFP reported, citing unnamed sources.
The pact was “under discussion for a long time,” but recent developments in the region accelerated efforts to finalize it, a source close to the Saudi military told AFP.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Saudi Arabian city.
Erdogan was set to arrive on Friday, while Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir had already arrived in the kingdom on Thursday.
In 2025, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan — the only Muslim-majority country armed with nuclear weapons — announced a joint defense deal.
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https://p.dw.com/p/5IQRuSkip next section Welcome to our coverage08/07/2026August 7, 2026
Welcome to our coverage
Emmy Sasipornkarn | Darko Janjevic Editor
An attack by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants wounded 11 people in southern Saudi Arabia.
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were expected to sign a defense agreement in Jeddah according to sources cited by Reuters and AFP news agencies.
Stay tuned as we bring you more on these stories and other major developments from the Middle East.
For our coverage of the conflict on August 6, 2026, you can catch our blog here.
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