Saudi, Turkey, Pakistan Military Chiefs To Hold Urgent Talks As Yemen Fighting Escalates

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are planning an urgent meeting of their military chiefs to discuss support for the Kingdom under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

The plan was announced after a meeting on Thursday in New York between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, 2026, to strengthen collective deterrence and expand defence cooperation. The pact provides that an attack on one of the signatories is considered an attack on all three.

Under the agreement, the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three countries held their first Strategic Political and Defence Committee meeting in Istanbul on August 31, where they agreed to establish a secretariat in Saudi Arabia and deepen military ties.

Thursday’s meeting in New York condemned attacks targeting Mecca and civilian and economic facilities in Saudi Arabia, affirming the Kingdom’s right to defend itself under Article 51 of the UN Charter. The statement did not disclose when the chiefs of staff will meet or what support is under consideration.

The diplomatic move came amid a fresh wave of cross-border attacks. Saudi authorities said air defences intercepted six ballistic missiles launched towards Taif and Yanbu on Thursday. Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Malki warned that further Houthi escalation would be “dealt with firmly.”

The Houthis claimed missile and drone attacks on a “sensitive target” in Riyadh and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

France has also pledged defensive support. President Emmanuel Macron said Paris would deploy soldiers, radars and defence systems to protect Yanbu.

The escalation coincides with heavy fighting inside Yemen. At least 150 fighters were killed in the last 24 hours leading to Friday, including 98 government-aligned fighters and 52 Houthi fighters, according to AFP, with clashes around the Kahboub Mountains and areas between Lahj and Taiz overlooking the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The Houthis have expanded along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, taking the port city of Mocha and strategic islands, tightening their grip around the Bab al-Mandeb, a corridor that carries about 12 percent of global trade.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has called for greater international action. Vice President Abdullah Abdulkader Al Alimi-Bawzer told the UN General Assembly that Houthi actions were “taking hostage the entire global economy.”

The fighting has displaced over 230,000 people since early September, according to UNHCR, adding to 5.2 million already internally displaced in Yemen.