The military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan met in Riyadh on Friday, September 25, to discuss support for the kingdom after a new wave of Houthi missile and drone attacks. The meeting brought the three countries’ August mutual defence agreement into focus as fighting in Yemen threatens Saudi territory and Red Sea shipping, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters.
The talks followed a meeting in New York on Thursday between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. The Saudi account said they arranged urgent military consultations under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which treats an attack on one member as an attack on all three. The agreement was signed on August 7.
Türkiye’s Defence Ministry said its chief of general staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, would travel to Saudi Arabia on Friday. Al Jazeera subsequently reported that he met his Saudi and Pakistani counterparts in Riyadh. No joint announcement had specified a military deployment or the form of any assistance. Accounts from Pakistan and Türkiye of the ministers’ discussions placed emphasis on the pact’s institutions and wider regional security.
The immediate pressure came from attacks claimed by the Houthis in Yemen. The group said it fired missiles and drones at targets including Riyadh and oil facilities at Yanbu on Thursday. Saudi authorities said air defences intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu. Those claims describe different aspects of the attacks and do not establish that the targets suffered damage.
Yanbu is a crucial Red Sea outlet for Saudi oil exports, while Houthi advances on Yemen’s coast have raised concerns for shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. France has said it will send personnel, radar and defensive systems to help protect Yanbu. The fighting also carries a human cost: UNHCR said on September 22 that more than 130,000 people had fled their homes in Yemen since the beginning of the month.
The Riyadh meeting tests how the three governments intend to apply their new pact amid a broader regional war. Reuters reported that Turkish officials had discussed possible technical support, but the governments had not announced a joint combat operation. Any decisions on assistance, and their effect on security around Saudi Arabia and Yemen, remain to be set out by the three countries.
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