ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Damascus on Sunday “strongly condemned” a Houthi attack targeting Saudi oil giant Aramco in Riyadh, a day after denying reports that thousands of Syrian troops were being deployed to Saudi Arabia and Yemen amid renewed hostilities between the kingdom and the Iran-backed group.
The Syrian foreign ministry expressed the country's “full solidarity” with Saudi Arabia, emphasizing that it would stand by the kingdom “against everything that targets its security, the safety of its territory, and its facilities.”
“The security of Saudi Arabia is an integral part of the region's security and stability,” the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA), citing the energy ministry, confirmed that “falling shrapnel” caused “minor damage” to an Aramco skyscraper in Riyadh but resulted in no injuries.
Damascus and Riyadh have expanded their cooperation, including in defense, amid renewed hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since July.
The condemnation came a day after Paris-based Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing Yemeni officials, that Damascus was preparing to send around 3,000 troops to Saudi Arabia and Yemen to reinforce the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government (IRG) in its fight against the Houthis.
The report said the deployment could eventually exceed 10,000 troops, with hundreds allegedly already stationed on both sides of the Saudi-Yemeni border.
However, a Syrian diplomatic source denied the reports in comments to the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) on Saturday.
“Talk of sending Syrian military forces to Yemen at the present time has no basis in truth,” the source said, adding that Damascus's priorities were strengthening “internal security, reconstruction, and economic recovery.”
The source said Syria's military agreements with Saudi Arabia were limited to “training, expertise exchange and military consultations,” with Saudi coordination visits to Syria scheduled to begin next month.
Charles Lister, the director of the Syria program at the International Crisis Group, also disputed AFP's account, saying it had “inaccurately” reported the deployment. He said that Syrian personnel were in Yemen but were serving in advisory roles, primarily involving drones, transport, and intelligence, in a post on X on Saturday.
The AFP report followed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday in Riyadh, where both leaders called for an “immediate halt to all acts threatening the security of navigation and waterways” in the Red Sea, Bab al-Mandab Strait, and Strait of Hormuz.
The two countries also signed a military cooperation agreement.
The Syrian diplomatic source told SANA that cooperation could develop into a joint defense agreement “in the future” or lead to Syria joining the Mecca Defence Alliance, a tripartite pact signed in August between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan for mutual defense.
Neither Ankara nor Islamabad has announced attacks on the Houthis despite the group's continued attacks on the kingdom.
A Syrian official in early October rejected reports of troop deployment to Yemen as “a lie” that has “no basis in truth.”
Earlier in October, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani stated that “discussions are currently under way to evaluate Syria's entry into the Mecca alliance.”
He further noted that Damascus backs the IRG in restoring “sovereignty and stability across its entire territory” as it battles the Houthis.
Riyadh has emerged as a key supporter of the Syrian government following the ouster of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, including through concessional loan agreements and diplomatic support for removing crippling sanctions imposed under Assad's rule.
The renewed hostilities began in mid-July, when the Aden-based IRG disabled a runway at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
The Houthis then launched ballistic missiles and drones at Abha International Airport and announced a blockade of Saudi shipping in the Red Sea, framing it as “siege for siege,” a reference to what they describe as a Saudi blockade of their ports since 2015 - a claim repeatedly rejected by Riyadh.
In September, the Iran-backed group launched a broad offensive across western Yemen, capturing the strategic Hodeidah districts of Hays and al-Khawkhah before advancing on the Red Sea port city of Mokha, Perim, and the Hanish Islands, taking control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coastline and strengthening its leverage over international shipping lanes critical to Saudi oil exports.
The Houthis also struck economic and military sites in the kingdom's southern cities, including Abha, Jizan, and Khamis Mushait, causing fires and injuries.
In October, the IRG launched the “Dawn of Yemen” military operation to retake Mokha, Dhubab, the Hanish Islands, and the Hays and al-Khawkhah districts, pushing the Houthis out of most of the areas they had seized in September.
