Mecca alliance: the NATO-like pact faced its first test. For now it's more shield than sword

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a defense pact in Mecca on August 7 that resembles NATO: an attack on one means an attack on all. Two months later, on October 5, it was activated for the first time because of the Houthis in Yemen, but Ankara and Islamabad have so far pledged support rather than combat. On Saturday, October 10, the Houthis reportedly killed at least 12 people at an airport there, according to Riyadh. Al Jazeera ↗

Switzerland's NZZ claims in a Sunday analysis that the alliance arose out of distrust toward the US and as a reaction to Israel's rapprochement with the United Arab Emirates. It also points to the risk of nuclear powers Pakistan and India being drawn into opposing blocs. NZZ ↗

What the alliance is

The agreement was signed by Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. At its core is a single sentence: an armed attack on any one of the three states will be considered "an attack against them all". AP (WTOP) ↗ Pakistani foreign minister Ishaq Dar said the pact is purely defensive and also open to other countries, while Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said it is not aimed at Iran or any other country. AP (WTOP) ↗ Riyadh and Islamabad have had their own bilateral defense agreement since September 2025, and Pakistan has been training Saudi soldiers since 1967. Al Jazeera ↗

NZZ adds political background. It says the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are today rival monarchies that back opposing sides in Sudan. Riyadh sought allies where it felt abandoned: according to NZZ, the impulse for both the Saudis and the Turks was that US loyalty to Israel weighed more heavily during the war with Iran than protection of Arab states. NZZ ↗

First test: Yemen

The Riyadh-led coalition claims that on September 29 a drone struck a power substation supplying the Prophet's Mosque in Medina. The Houthis deny this. Euronews ↗ A week later, on October 5, the alliance's emergency committee convened in Riyadh, and according to Saudi defense minister Khalid bin Salman it agreed to activate collective deterrence measures. The statement did not name the Houthis. Al Jazeera ↗ On the same day, the Yemeni government, backed by the Saudis, launched a counteroffensive covered, according to a coalition spokesman, by 100 fighter jets. Al Jazeera ↗ Former Pakistani general Numan Mahmud became the alliance's first secretary-general for a three-year term. Jerusalem Post ↗

According to Al Jazeera, Saturday's attack on King Khalid Airport was the third on that airport within a week and the deadliest in the kingdom in over a decade: 12 dead and, according to the Saudi civil aviation authority, 309 injured. The figures come from Saudi authorities, who blame the Houthis. Trump said he is considering US involvement: "We may. We're gonna look at it." Al Jazeera ↗ The National ↗

Also read: Attack on Riyadh airport leaves 12 dead and 309 injured

What Ankara and Islamabad have promised — and what they haven't

Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif said Turkish and Pakistani forces would play a supporting role including reconnaissance, while the Saudis do the fighting. He did not directly answer whether Pakistanis had participated in the strikes in Yemen. Al Jazeera ↗ The numbers vary: The Conversation reports around 8,000 Pakistani troops in the kingdom, a squadron of JF-17 jets and HQ-9 air defense, Middle East Eye writes of tens of thousands, and Islamabad has not published figures. The Conversation ↗ Middle East Eye ↗

Turkey has not publicly confirmed any deployment, though German media have reported on it. Under the constitution it requires parliamentary approval, and parliament has not yet ratified the pact. Spiegel ↗ The Conversation ↗ Analyst M. Waqas Haider of Staffordshire University summed it up by saying the members showed up, but brought a shield, not a sword. He sees the biggest risk in mission creep, as Yemeni forces talk of advancing on Sanaa. The Conversation ↗ According to analyst Javad Heiran-Nia, Iran would tolerate a purely defensive deployment, but would view an offensive against the Houthis as a red line. Al Jazeera ↗

One detail worth noting for NATO countries: a Turkish soldier wounded in Riyadh would not fall under the Alliance, since its guarantee applies only within the North Atlantic area, but under the Mecca alliance. The Conversation ↗

Limits of this view

NZZ is a Swiss liberal-conservative daily, and the Sunday piece is a short, three-minute analysis. It relies on a single named expert, Ferid Belhaj of the Middle East Institute think tank, according to whom the Middle East is not forming rigid blocs but a network of overlapping partnerships. The comparison to 1914 is the author's own reflection, not a fact. The casualty figures come from Saudi authorities; independent confirmation from the Yemeni side is lacking, and as for the deployment, these are statements, not verified troop movements.

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Illustrative photo: Riyadh Skyline, B.alotaby, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.