Trump declines to back Saudi Arabia as US officials reportedly meet Iran-backed Houthis in Oman
US officials met representatives of Yemen's Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter said, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces. U.S. President Donald Trump has so far rebuffed pleas from the Saudis for military support fighting the Houthis. FRANCE 24's Fraser…
Saudi Arabia has denied Nigeria's demand for additional Hajj slots for the 2027 pilgrimage, maintaining an approved quota of 50,000 pilgrims. The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria disclosed this in a statement, revealing that they had approached the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah to seek more slots due to growing demand from Nigerian pilgrims and requests from state pilgrims' welfare boards.
However, Saudi authorities cited capacity limitations, structural constraints at the holy sites, and their policy of adhering to country quotas as reasons for rejecting the additional slots. NAHCON Chairman, Ambassador Ismail Yusuf, expressed disappointment at the decision, stating that the Commission had exhausted every diplomatic and operational avenue to secure more slots but respected the Saudi authorities' final decision.
The Commission urged stakeholders to comply with the approved quota and emphasized the importance of meeting the September 26, 2026, deadline for uploading pilgrim data on the Nusuk-Masar platform.
Written by urgent.news from Punch Nigeria's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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