Riyadh: Tensions in West Asia have escalated sharply, with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan agreeing to activate collective defence measures under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement and move toward the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities to the Gulf kingdom, amid intensifying attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The decision followed an emergency meeting of the alliance’s Strategic Political and Defense Committee in Riyadh on Monday.
The agreement brings together Turkey, which fields NATO’s second-largest military, Pakistan, the Islamic world’s only nuclear-armed nation, and Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s leading military and economic power. The three countries strongly condemned an alleged Houthi attempt to target the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, along with continuing attacks on Saudi cities, civilian facilities and economic installations. The Mecca pact, signed in August, stipulates that an attack on any one of the three nations is to be treated as an attack on all of them.
Fighting in Yemen, which had been relatively subdued for several years, has intensified sharply since July, with Houthi rebels using missiles and drones to target Saudi energy infrastructure, oil refineries, international shipping, and reportedly Mecca itself. The rebels have pushed back Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and seized control of several strategically vital areas, including the Bab al-Mandeb strait — a critical global shipping chokepoint — and the port town of Mokha, disrupting international trade and energy transport.
In response, the Saudi-led coalition has launched a large-scale military operation reported as “Dawn of Yemen,” involving more than 100 fighter jets conducting continuous airstrikes against Houthi positions. With the Mecca pact now moving into its implementation phase, Pakistan and Turkey are accelerating the deployment of advanced defence technology, military guidance, air-defence systems and troops to Saudi Arabia.
International observers have voiced concern that the combination of Pakistan’s nuclear capability, Turkey’s NATO-aligned military strength, and Saudi Arabia’s oil wealth, ranged against escalating Iran-backed Houthi aggression, risks pushing the West Asia conflict toward a far broader and more dangerous confrontation.