Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi military chiefs meet in Riyadh over Houthi threats

Military chiefs from Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia convened in Riyadh on September 25 to coordinate a joint response to escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, as the newly-formed Mecca Defense Alliance moves toward operational footing. Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu met his Pakistani and Saudi counterparts behind closed doors to discuss military support for Saudi Arabia, one day after the alliance's foreign ministers — Hakan Fidan, Ishaq Dar and Prince Faisal bin Farhan — held a parallel session in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The three states condemned the recent Houthi strikes against Saudi targets and commended the vigilance of the Saudi armed forces, reaffirming the kingdom's right to take measures it deems appropriate in self-defense, according to a readout. The Mecca Defense Alliance, whose founding charter was signed on August 7, operates on a collective defense principle similar to NATO Article 5, under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. The Riyadh meeting reviewed progress on establishing the alliance's general secretariat, committees and working groups. The urgency of the gathering reflects a dramatic escalation in the Red Sea theater. On September 25, the same day as the Riyadh meeting, Saudi air defenses intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Taif and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea coast, where Saudi Aramco operates a major refining and export terminal. The Houthis claimed to have targeted Aramco's Yanbu facilities and a sensitive target in Riyadh. Oil prices climbed roughly 3 percent to a one-week high. A day earlier, an emergency alert was triggered in Khamis Mushait after Houthi drone incursions into the southern region. The coordinated missile and drone campaign follows the Houthis' capture of the coastal city of Mocha and the strategic Hanish islands in early September, placing them within striking distance of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint through which an estimated 12 percent of global maritime trade passes. The Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in July and have since seized swathes of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, threatening the kingdom's oil exports through the Yanbu terminal. France has stepped in with a pledge of military assets, including soldiers, radars and air defense systems, to protect the critical port. For Qatar, the Riyadh meeting carries direct implications. Doha has long advocated for de-escalation in Yemen and maintained channels of communication with all parties, including the Houthis, as part of its mediation-first foreign policy. The militarization of the Red Sea — now drawing in Turkish, Pakistani, Saudi and French forces — complicates Qatar's diplomatic posture and risks dragging Gulf states deeper into a conflict that has already destabilized the Arabian Peninsula for over a decade. With crude oil hovering above $100 a barrel and global shipping lanes under threat, the regional security architecture is being reshaped in real time, and the Mecca Defense Alliance's rapid institutionalisation signals that Riyadh and its partners are preparing for a prolonged confrontation.