Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit at a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Sept 12, 2017. (Photo: VNA)

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates supported the Saudi request, which was approved by Djibouti, the current Arab League chair. The Saudi request says that on November 4 Saudi air defenses intercepted a missile near Riyadh that was fired from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Saudi Arabia and its allies have accused Iran of supplying missiles and other weapons to the Houthis. Tensions have been rising recently between Saudi Arabia and Iran over events in Qatar and Lebanon.