Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit in Baghdad condemns attacks on Saudi Arabia

At the opening of the 52nd session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad on Saturday, 17 October 2026, the organisation strongly condemned the missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia. The condemnation was issued in the presence of Abbas Araghchi, foreign minister of the Islamic Republic, the government regarded as the main backer of Yemen's Houthis, who carried out the attacks.

In his opening speech, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, secretary-general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, described the attacks as a violation of Saudi Arabia's national sovereignty, of the sanctity of Islamic holy sites and of regional stability, and called them "criminal attacks". He said they contradict the principle of non-aggression, Islamic and human values, the organisation's charter and international law. No account of Araghchi's remarks at the meeting has been published.

A two-day summit in Baghdad

The foreign ministers' meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, hosted by Iraq under the slogan of dialogue and solidarity, continues until Sunday, 18 October. Six Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are taking part at ambassador level. At the meeting, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falah al-Zaidi proposed integrating the region's energy networks, railways, transport and digital communications, and creating a free-trade system.

The Islamic Republic's role in the Yemen war

In recent weeks the Houthis have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and civilian infrastructure. Intelligence assessments by Saudi Arabia and its allies indicate that officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Yemen are directing the targeting of these attacks, an accusation that Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman of the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry, rejected. At the same time, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has asked his country's parliament for authorisation to defend Saudi Arabia.

The condemnation of these attacks at a summit attended by the Islamic Republic's foreign minister shows that Tehran's isolation in the Islamic world is growing because of its military and financial support for the Houthis and other proxy groups.

In the presence of the Islamic Republic's foreign minister, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation called the attacks by Tehran's allies on Saudi Arabia "criminal".