The Defense Ministry said Saudi Arabia will serve as the alliance’s founding and leading state while hosting its headquarters. The coalition’s founding members are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia. The announcement comes as maritime security remains under pressure in the region. On July 20, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and have since claimed a series of attacks targeting Saudi-linked shipping. Saudi Arabia has responded with airstrikes on what it described as Houthi military facilities in Yemen’s Hodeidah that it said were being used to threaten commercial shipping.