Arabic version: هجمات الحوثيين تختبر اتفاقية مكة الدفاعية

According to Al Jazeera, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have captured Mocha port, threatened control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait and attacked several Saudi cities, wounding about 70 people, including women and children. The developments have raised questions over whether the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan could be activated.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed their first mutual defence agreement in September 2025. Turkiye joined in August 2026, creating the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The three states have established a joint secretariat in Riyadh, while Pakistan holds the chairmanship for an initial three-year term.

The agreement’s public terms do not specify thresholds for direct military intervention. Its rules of engagement, consultation mechanisms and collective-defence structures have yet to be formally developed. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said earlier this week that unprovoked aggression against Saudi Arabia, or a spillover of Yemen’s conflict into the kingdom, would make the agreement operational.

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last month that the pact would operate like NATO, with an attacked member required to request and define the assistance it needs. Al Jazeera noted that Saudi Arabia has not invoked the agreement with Pakistan or Turkiye. Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as diplomatic efforts intensify.

If attacks continue, Pakistan and Turkiye would likely expand air and technological support, the report said. Pakistan already has about 16 JF-17 Thunder multirole aircraft, defence systems and thousands of troops deployed in Saudi Arabia. A direct Pakistani operation in Yemen remains unlikely, while increased diplomatic pressure, Saudi defence support and a multinational naval coalition for the Bab al-Mandeb were identified as a more likely response.