Turkey's parliament ratifies Mecca defense pact, clearing way for military support to Saudi Arabia

Under the agreement, signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey and sent to parliament for approval last month, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.

Turkey's parliament on Thursday ratified the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, a defense pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, clearing the way for Ankara to send military support to Riyadh amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militants against the kingdom.

Under the agreement, signed by the three regional powers in August and sent to parliament for approval last month, an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all.

A ruling party lawmaker told Reuters last month that Turkey would also submit to parliament a mandate allowing for military personnel to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under the pact.

Saudi, Syrian defense ministries sign military cooperation agreement

On Wednesday, the Saudi and Syrian defense ministries signed a military cooperation agreement, days after Yoni Ben-Menachem, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, told The Jerusalem Post that Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is seeking to join the Mecca Pact.

The pact was signed during Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s visit to Riyadh, where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the second time in a month.

Although details of the military agreement have not been made public, Syria was considering helping Saudi Arabia in the war against the Iranian-backed Houthis, Reuters reported.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani confirmed on Saturday that “discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” according to Syrian state media. 

“They estimate that Iran is about to collapse, so they created this Mecca Pact, this Mecca alliance, which will also include Sunni countries that are not part of the Muslim Brotherhood but are also Sunni. They will fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the Shi’ite axis following the fall of the Iranian regime,” he said, theorizing that Qatar would soon announce it is considering joining.