Saudi Arabia’s top religious authority called on soldiers in the kingdom to be ready to lay down their lives to fight the Iran-backed Houthis until the group is ousted from power, a statement posted on the Saudi state news agency said.

The rare and strongly worded message by Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan was addressed to soldiers stationed at the country’s borders and drew heavily on Quranic verses and recorded sayings of the Prophet Mohammad related to sacrifice and struggle in defence of God.

It comes after weeks of escalating violence between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis which has ⁠seen the Iran-backed group attack the kingdom with salvos of missiles and drones and Saudi Arabia respond with airstrikes.

Observers have been questioning whether Saudi Arabia will launch a broader military operation along with Yemeni government forces it backs.

“Protecting this great nation… and punishing anyone who seeks to lay a hand on even an inch of its territory are among the greatest duties and most virtuous acts of devotion, for which lives and souls may be sacrificed in seeking God’s pleasure,” said the statement, issued late Thursday.

Asserting the authority of the Saudi-backed internationally recognized Yemeni government over the entire country was “among the most pressing obligations,” it added.

Those government forces lost control of the vital Bab el-Mandeb waterway to the Houthis two weeks back, a blow to the kingdom, which has been mired in the conflict since 2015 ⁠after it launched an unsuccessful operation to oust the Houthis from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

The recent fighting is the latest episode in 12 years of civil war in Yemen which had largely been frozen since a 2022 but has escalated again and has become linked to the wider Iran war.

“We ask God Almighty to grant you all his support, and to protect our countries and beloved Yemen from all harm. We also ask him to ⁠bring about the complete defeat of the Houthi group and those who assist and support them,” the statement said.

The Mufti’s letter adds to a growing religiously centered narrative by authorities in the conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom aimed at discrediting the Houthis, who follow a different sect of Islam.

State TV has ⁠in recent weeks aired footage of an alleged Houthi strike on a mosque in the kingdom’s south, and authorities have also accused the Houthis of launching an attack on Mecca, Islam’s holiest site.

“It is incumbent upon you, brothers serving on the front lines, to ⁠remain constantly prepared to perform your duty, to obey the rulers and your field commanders, and to carry out orders with the utmost precision, as God Almighty commanded the companions of his Prophet to do,” the statement said.

“You are following in the footsteps of the Prophet’s companions, defending the sacred sites of Muslims.”