NATO of the Middle East
Washington – Agencies: The announcement of the activation of the “Mecca Defense Pact” between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan received an immediate welcome in the US Congress, with the alliance being described as the “NATO of the Middle East.” Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman affirmed the activation of “collective deterrence” against attacks and against all those behind them. (See page 12.)
Prominent Republican member of the US House of Representatives Joe Wilson stated that the “Mecca Pact” for collective defense has the potential to become the “NATO of the Middle East.” In a post on the X platform, he wrote, “I express my gratitude to our allies Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia for activating the alliance in response to the Iranian-backed Houthi aggression.”
For his part, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said on X that “the emergency meeting of the Political and Defense Strategic Committee of the Mecca Defense Pact confirms the solidarity and unity of our nations in facing the heinous attacks that targeted the Kingdom and the Holy Sites, and in activating collective deterrence against these attacks and against all those behind them within the framework of the Mecca Defense Pact.”
On Monday evening, the “Mecca Defense Pact” decided to immediately move to the practical implementation of its collective defense commitments. This decision came during an emergency meeting of the alliance’s Political and Defense Strategic Committee, held by the three countries in Riyadh to discuss security developments and threats facing Saudi Arabia.
A joint statement issued by the Saudi Ministry of Defense noted that the committee decided to immediately proceed with the practical implementation of collective defense commitments and to take necessary measures to deploy the agreed-upon forces and military capabilities to the Kingdom swiftly.
Meanwhile, military and political developments continued in Yemen yesterday as the “Yemen Dawn” operation entered its second day. Brigadier General Turki Al-Maliki, official spokesperson for the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen, announced that coalition forces destroyed a ballistic missile launch platform in the capital Sanaa and a ballistic missile storage facility in a mountainous site in Saada containing 20 ballistic missiles. He added that the coalition’s naval forces carried out a military operation in Al-Hudaydah governorate, targeting legitimate Houthi military objectives.
He clarified that the operation resulted in the destruction of weapons depots and warehouses for explosive-laden boats and naval mines, and noted the thwarting of a plot for imminent attacks targeting waterways in the southern Red Sea.
