Turkey Ready to Back Saudi Security as Houthi Attacks Escalate, FM Says
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saudi Arabia may have military needs that are not being met as Yemen’s Houthi rebels intensify attacks, and that Turkey would consider how to support the kingdom within a trilateral defense pact.
In an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV on Friday, Fidan said it would be unacceptable for Saudi Arabia to be dragged into the wider U.S.-Iran war, adding that Riyadh has no desire to join the conflict. He said proposals had been conveyed to all sides in an effort to end the fighting, but did not elaborate.
The remarks came as Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia continued trading attacks in an escalating war in Yemen. The Houthis have pressed gains that have brought large stretches of the Red Sea coast, including the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait, under their control.
The conflict has left Gulf states increasingly concerned about being pulled into a broader U.S.-Iran war that has continued for more than six months since Washington and Israel first struck Iran in February.
The trilateral agreement, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, was signed on Aug. 7 in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The three countries formally named the arrangement the Mecca Defense Alliance on Aug. 31, after officials meeting in Istanbul agreed to set up a secretariat in Riyadh, initially headed by a Pakistani secretary-general.
Its founding principle is that an armed attack against any one of the three states will be treated as an attack against all three.
Pakistan has made a similar pledge to defend Saudi Arabia under the pact. Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s military, told Arab News on Thursday that Islamabad would defend Saudi Arabia “to any extent,” including “physically,” though he did not say whether Riyadh had asked for more Pakistani troops. Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said no military response is currently under discussion under the pact, adding that Islamabad would act “when time comes.”
Fidan said at the time the alliance was built on “respecting the sovereignty of other states, territorial integrity and not intervening in internal affairs,” and remained open to other countries joining.
Analysts have questioned how much substance lies behind the pact so far, noting it lacks the integrated command structure and standing forces that underpin NATO. Its institutional shape, including how the mutual-defense clause would actually be triggered, remains unclear.
For now, the public commitments from Turkey and Pakistan signal that the Mecca alliance is being framed as more than a diplomatic statement. But whether it can translate into coordinated military support—and whether Saudi Arabia will request it—remains an open question as Houthi attacks and regional tensions intensify.