Mecca Pact Activated as Rubio Pledges Support to Riyadh Without Naming a Single Action

On Monday, October 5, defence and foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan met in Riyadh and invoked the Mecca Pact for the first time. Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman said the committee had agreed to activate collective deterrence measures “in response to the attacks and all those responsible for them”. The same day Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, said they had taken the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the port of Mokha.

The same day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave Washington’s answer to reporters before leaving for Europe. He spoke of Saudi rights and said nothing about American action.

Set against the weeks that led to Monday, the statements show a Saudi government that asked Washington for strikes in September and on October 5 turned to partners who had pledged forces.

The Mecca Pact, signed on August 7, was invoked on October 5, the day Yemeni forces backed by Saudi Arabia said they had reached the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Türkiye and Pakistan committed to deploy forces in Saudi Arabia, but only under “approved arrangements”. Rubio said of the US defence agreement with Riyadh, “we intend to live by it”, and declined to say whether it was giving air support. The Houthis claimed strikes on Riyadh’s airport and an Aramco refinery.

According to Al Jazeera, Khalid bin Salman said the ministers had “reaffirmed the solidarity and unity of our countries, in confronting the heinous attacks against the Kingdom, and holy sites”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry published the joint decision. Pakistan and Türkiye would “provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment” in the kingdom, under “approved arrangements” and in accordance with each country’s laws.

Abdulaziz Ghashian of the Gulf International Forum said, as quoted by Al Jazeera, that “the Houthi attacks and provocations in recent weeks and months really hastened the Mecca Alliance”.

Al Jazeera reported that Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7, declaring that an attack on one member is an attack on all three. A month later Doga Eralp of the Marine Corps University’s Command and Staff College wrote in War on the Rocks on September 9 that collective-defense pacts “are meant to make war less likely. Poorly designed ones can do the opposite.”

On September 19 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the broadcaster NTV, in remarks carried by Kurdistan24: “There may be military needs, particularly in certain technical areas. We would have no difficulty meeting them.” He added: “We are an ally and we stand by our word.”

On October 2 Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that Iran had suggested engaging the Houthis through political channels. Reuters reported that Dar said there was “no written, solid offer” and called the idea “brainstorming between two foreign ministers”. He said the pact’s committee would meet in Riyadh the following week.

The committee met three days later.

Rubio spoke on Monday, October 5, before departing for Iceland and Europe, as reported by The National. “Obviously the Saudis have come under Houthi attack and see the threat that that poses, and they have a right to defend themselves,” he said.

On the Yemeni advance he said: “Obviously the Yemeni forces are going to try to retake territory that they were ousted from.” On Washington’s own role: “The United States has a defence and security agreement with Saudi Arabia and we intend to live by it.”

The National reported that he did not say whether the United States was providing air support or coordinating the offensive. Elizabeth Dent of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy told The National that Washington is likely already providing “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support”, and she stopped short of confirming direct air support.

Yemeni government forces said on Monday that a flanking manoeuvre had given them effective control of the strait, the Dhubab area and Mokha. Colonel Majed al-Nuzaili, a spokesman for the government forces, said hundreds of Houthi fighters were surrounded in Dhubab. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki, a major general, said 100 fighter jets had destroyed 324 “high-value” targets. The National noted that the claims could not be independently verified and that the Houthis had not confirmed them.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, announced a campaign called Operation Yemen Dawn, which The National described as aimed at retaking Sanaa and ending what he calls the Houthi coup.

Al Jazeera reported that the Houthis claimed attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery at Rabigh. Silent Dossier found no confirmation of damage.

The first marker is where Turkish and Pakistani forces land. The joint statement published by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry gives no numbers, no units and no date.

The second is the Houthi response, since their claims on Riyadh’s airport and on Rabigh, if confirmed, would put civilian aviation and export infrastructure under fire while allied troops are still arriving, as Al Jazeera’s report describes them.

The third is Washington. Rubio said “we intend to live by” the agreement; Trump’s answer to the crown prince in September, per Axios, was no.