Turkey, Pakistan to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia under Mecca defense pact
Version 2: A second business outlet, Asia Economy, added the Saudi defense minister’s account of the Riyadh meeting, the Yemeni government’s recapture of the Red Sea port of Mocha and analysis of the fight over the Red Sea route.
In short
Turkey and Pakistan said they will provide agreed military forces and take steps to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia, after an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5, in the first practical activation of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed on Aug. 7. The joint statement did not name the Houthis but pointed to recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, especially on Mecca and Medina, and gave no detail on troop size or timing. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces separately said they had retaken the Red Sea port city of Mocha from the Houthis.
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Turkey and Pakistan agreed to provide military forces and capabilities and to take the steps needed to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia, after an emergency meeting of the three countries’ representatives in Riyadh on Oct. 5. In a joint statement, the delegations said they “reconfirmed” their rejection of any threat to or attack on Saudi Arabia’s security and territorial integrity, and would immediately begin carrying out their collective-defense commitments, providing the agreed troops and capabilities. [ 1 , 4 ]
The statement did not mention the Houthis by name, Yonhap reported, but said the three countries were focused on recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, especially those aimed at the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Asia Economy reported that the Houthis, described in the documents as a pro-Iran Shia armed group in Yemen, had attacked the Red Sea and targets in Saudi Arabia including Riyadh and the holy sites, and said the three countries’ move was read as a response to those strikes. Neither outlet gave the size of the force to be deployed or its role, or a date for the deployment. [ 1 , 4 ]
Yonhap reported that those at the meeting included Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan, Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan and the defense ministers of all three countries. Asia Economy, citing the Saudi defense minister’s account on X, said the meeting was chaired by Saudi defense minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, who said afterward that Saudi Arabia had confirmed solidarity with Islamic countries against “aggression” targeting the kingdom and the holy sites and would activate military deterrence against “the aggressor forces and those behind them” through the defense agreement. [ 1 , 4 ]
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7 in Mecca, stating at the time that they had concluded a treaty to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and that an armed attack on any one of them would be treated as an attack on all. Yonhap noted the weight of the signatories: Turkey, with NATO’s second-largest military; Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed country in the Islamic world; and Saudi Arabia, a Gulf power that hosts Islam’s holiest site. Their foreign ministers had already met on Sept. 25 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and issued a statement condemning Houthi attacks on Mecca and key Saudi facilities. [ 1 , 4 ]
Separately, Asia Economy reported that Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi Arabia said they had retaken the Red Sea port city of Mocha from the Houthis. The Yemeni government said in a statement the previous day that it had recovered Mocha and other key Red Sea positions and had effectively regained control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and that operations would continue until the whole country was “liberated” from the rebels. [ 4 ]
Asia Economy also cited Al Jazeera as saying Saudi Arabia and neighboring Sunni states would seek to push the Houthis away from the Red Sea coast to secure an alternative supply route around the Strait of Hormuz, but that advancing into the Houthis’ northwestern Yemeni mountain strongholds could provoke Iran sharply, so they might return to negotiations after securing the Red Sea. [ 4 ]
Newsis carried the announcement through an AP photograph and caption, describing it as Turkey and Pakistan setting out a military support plan as the Saudi-led coalition pressed a counteroffensive against the pro-Iran Houthis, with the image showing the three leaders at the Aug. 7 signing in Mecca. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The announcement turns a mutual-defense treaty among three Sunni states into an operating arrangement, with Turkey, described by Yonhap as holding NATO’s second-largest military, and Pakistan, described as the Islamic world’s only nuclear-armed state, committing forces to Saudi Arabia. Because the statement cites attacks on Mecca and Medina, the deployment points to a wider confrontation with the Houthis beyond Yemen, and Asia Economy reported that fighting over the Red Sea route is expected to intensify. The documents give no size or timing for the deployment, so its practical military effect is not yet clear.
Key facts
- Turkey and Pakistan said they will provide agreed military forces and capabilities and take the steps needed to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The decision followed an emergency meeting of Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani representatives in Riyadh on Oct. 5. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7 in Mecca, stating that an armed attack on any one of them would be treated as an attack on all. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The joint statement did not name the Houthis directly but said recent attacks on Saudi Arabia, especially on Mecca and Medina, were the focus. [ 1 , 4 ]
- No size, role or deployment date for the forces was disclosed. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Saudi defense minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud said on X that the kingdom had confirmed solidarity with Islamic states against attacks on Saudi Arabia and the holy sites and would activate military deterrence through the defense agreement, according to Asia Economy. [ 4 ]
- The Saudi-backed Yemeni government said its forces had retaken the Red Sea port city of Mocha and effectively regained control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, and said operations would continue until the whole country was recovered. [ 4 ]
- The three countries’ foreign ministers met on Sept. 25 at the UN General Assembly in New York and issued a statement condemning Houthi attacks on Mecca and key Saudi facilities. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Turkey and Pakistan said they would provide agreed military forces and capabilities and take steps to deploy them rapidly to Saudi Arabia. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The decision followed an emergency meeting of representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in Riyadh on Oct. 5. [ 1 , 4 ]
- Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7 in Mecca. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The joint statement said the three countries reject any threat to or attack on Saudi Arabia’s security and territorial integrity and would begin implementing their collective-defense commitments at once. [ 1 , 4 ]
- No size, role or date for the deployment was disclosed. [ 1 , 4 ]
- The agreement states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries is considered an attack on all. [ 1 ]
Still unclear
- The size of the force to be deployed, the role it will play and when it will arrive. Yonhap and Asia Economy both report that the joint statement gave no details; the documents say only that deployment will be “rapid.”
- Whether the Houthis were named in the joint statement. Yonhap reports the three countries did not mention the Houthis directly while pointing to recent attacks on Saudi Arabia; Asia Economy attributes the attacks to the Houthis in its own text.
- The Yemeni government’s recapture of Mocha and the reopening of the Bab el-Mandeb strait. This appears only in Asia Economy, with no second outlet or official statement in the documents.
- Saudi defense minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud’s remarks on X and his role in chairing the meeting. Single-source claim carried by Asia Economy; Yonhap lists the Saudi foreign minister, not the defense minister, as leading attendance.
- The state of fighting between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis. The claim that the Saudi-led coalition has begun a full counteroffensive appears only in the Newsis photograph caption; the other documents describe the Houthi attacks and the defense-pact response.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Aug. 7: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in Mecca. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Sept. 25: The three countries’ foreign ministers meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and issue a statement condemning Houthi attacks on Mecca and key Saudi facilities. [ 1 ]
- Oct. 5: Representatives of the three countries hold an emergency meeting in Riyadh and say they will immediately begin implementing their collective-defense commitments and deploy agreed forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia quickly. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Oct. 5: The Yemeni government says its forces have retaken Mocha and effectively regained control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait. [ 4 ]
- Yonhap publishes its report. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes its report. [ 2 ]
- Asia Economy publishes its report. [ 4 ]