Sirens blared in Mecca on Tuesday as the Houthis fired a drone from Yemen toward Islam’s holiest city, at least according to the Saudis.
Only a month before, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman hosted the leaders of Turkey and Pakistan to sign a joint defense agreement with great fanfare in the same city.
The Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia were the first test of that pact, the Mecca Agreement, and it doesn’t seem to have translated to improved security for the Gulf kingdom. Its cities, ships, and infrastructure are coming under daily attack, and Turkey and Pakistan have not mobilized to defend their beleaguered ally — despite Saudi Arabia hosting at least 8,000 Pakistani troops.
Officials from Turkey and Pakistan told the Associated Press they have not received a Saudi request for support in response to the Houthis’ escalation. If they are telling the truth, and the new alliance doesn’t warrant even a request for assistance in the moment of truth, the crown prince is already admitting that it doesn’t actually make his kingdom any safer.
The manifest worthlessness of the Mecca pact is only one element of an increasingly dire situation for Saudi Arabia.
Published originally on September 20, 2026.
Read the full article at the Times of Israel.
