Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are arranging an urgent meeting of their military chiefs to discuss support for the kingdom following renewed Houthi attacks, according to Saudi state media and regional reporting.
The New York meeting behind the talks
The planned talks follow a meeting in New York between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Saudi state media said the ministers discussed arrangements for an urgent meeting of their countries' military chiefs to explore ways to support Saudi Arabia.
The Makkah Joint Defence Agreement
The talks would take place under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a trilateral pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan on August 7, 2026.
The Saudi Press Agency's official text of that agreement says it is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and provides that an armed attack against any one of the three states will be regarded as an attack against them all.
That makes the current coordination more than a collection of unrelated bilateral defense relationships. It is a formal trilateral defense agreement signed by the leaders of all three countries.
The countries have already begun building mechanisms under the pact. Their foreign and defense ministers and senior military officials met in Istanbul on August 31 for the first meeting of the agreement's strategic political and defense committee.
The Houthi attacks that prompted the talks
The new round of talks follows a series of Houthi attacks from Yemen.
Saudi authorities said air defenses intercepted six ballistic missiles launched toward Taif and Yanbu on Thursday. The Houthis separately claimed missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets, including a target in Riyadh and energy facilities in Yanbu.
The foreign ministers' meeting also condemned attacks on Mecca and on civilian and economic sites in Saudi Arabia, according to regional reporting citing the Saudi Press Agency. The three countries affirmed Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
What has not been announced
The announcement did not specify when the chiefs of staff would meet or what form military support could take.
That uncertainty is important. The defense pact creates a collective defense commitment, but it does not automatically reveal whether Turkey or Pakistan will deploy forces, air defense systems, intelligence assets or other capabilities in response to the current Houthi attacks.
Any such decision would require additional government announcements.
The developing situation comes as the conflict in Yemen and wider regional fighting again place Saudi territory and Red Sea infrastructure under pressure. The immediate question is no longer whether a Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defense framework exists. It does. The next question is how the three governments intend to use it in practice.