Pakistan: Mecca Defence Pact Could Activate Over Houthi Attacks on Saudi Arabia

Pakistan's defence minister warned that a Houthi missile barrage wounding 73 people in Saudi Arabia could trigger the newly signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a NATO-style mutual-defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. The deal, forged amid fears over Israel's expanding military reach and Iran's regional influence, was signed as Yemen's war escalates toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait following the wider US-Israel conflict with Iran. This marks a step toward a formal Sunni-Muslim military bloc responding to Iran-aligned forces, showing surrounding powers being drawn into binding collective-defence commitments.