Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement on September 17, declaring that an attack on one will be treated as an attack on both. It advances joint deterrence, intelligence sharing and military cooperation amid shifting Gulf security concerns.
In the above context, a video is being widely shared on social media in which a Houthi commander is seen speaking at a press conference. The video is being shared with a photo of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif after signing the Joint Strategic Defence Agreement on September 19.
In the video, the Houthi commander can be heard speaking in Arabic. We used Google to translate his speech: “A red plan, our issues, our sanctities, and our Islam are a red plan, and don’t argue on my behalf. I heard the gentleman in the last interview say there are no red lines for the Yemeni people, no red lines. If you have red lines in front of us, they are not red lines, by targeting things that the enemy has never thought of, nor has the enemy imagined, nor have the Yemeni people or the peoples of the nation imagined. And we will reach a stage, God willing, and by God’s strength, in the fifth and sixth stages, if the enemy reaches aggression against Gaza, it means there will be situations that even Yemeni souls cannot imagine."
The video is shared with a caption claiming that the Houthis commander is warning Pakistan and Saudi Arabia against their new defence pact.
A social media user shared the video with a caption that reads, “ Clash Of The Believers’ Sunni Pakistan sends 25,000 troops to the Saudi–Yemen border under a new defence pact. Shia Houthi fighters issued a threat, saying they will ‘turn the Yemen–Saudi border into a graveyard for Pakistani soldiers’.”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The video shows the Houthi commander speaking about the Gaza border.
On a Google Reverse Image Search, we found that the same video was shared by Al Mayadeen News, a Lebanese news channel, on May 14, 2024.
The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree affirmed that Gaza is a red line, and that operations are open and there are no red lines. He emphasised that if the aggression against Gaza continues, the armed forces will strike targets beyond the reach of the enemy.”
In the video, at around 20 seconds, Brigadier General Yahya can be seen saying the same thing as in the viral video.
We found that a clip of the viral video was also shared by OneIndia News on May 14, 2024.
At around the 43-second mark, Yahya is heard saying the same statement as in the viral video. According to the report, “Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for Yemeni armed forces, issued a fresh warning on May 13th, threatening Israel and the West. In a televised speech, he declared Gaza as a red line, promising unpredictable retaliation for any aggression. Saree vowed to target the enemy’s vulnerabilities, warning of unforeseen actions if the assault on Gaza persists.”
We found that the incident was also reported by Press TV on May 14, 2024.
According to the report, Yemen’s Armed Forces warned they may launch dramatic strikes ‘enemy hasn’t imagined’ if Israel continues its Gaza war. They said Gaza is a ‘red line,’ threatened to escalate operations and targeted sea routes for continued Israeli supply lines.
The context behind Yahya Saree’s statement
The Hamas-Israel war began in October 2023. Yemen’s Houthi movement has taken a more active role, framing itself in solidarity with Palestinians. The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks toward Israel and targeted Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Israel has responded with airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas, including ports, infrastructure and military sites. The Houthis say Gaza is a ‘red line’, meaning certain actions (like continuing heavy Israeli strikes, or blocking aid to Gaza) cross a threshold that will provoke retaliation.
We also found no report or credible social media post that showed any response from the Houthis on the Saudi-Pakistan pact.
Hence, we can ascertain that the claim is false.
