Turkey’s Parliament Ratifies Mecca Defense Pact, Enabling Military Aid to Saudi Arabia

Turkey’s parliament ratified the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Thursday, a pact among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey that clears the way for Ankara to provide military assistance to Riyadh amid Houthi attacks backed by Iran.

The accord, signed by the three regional powers in August and submitted for parliamentary approval the previous month, establishes that an assault on any signatory is considered an assault on all members.

A ruling‑party legislator told Reuters last month that Turkey would also present a parliamentary mandate to allow troops to be deployed to Saudi Arabia under the pact.

The pact was concluded during a visit by Syrian President Ahmed Al‑Sharaa to Riyadh, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the second time in as many months.

While the specifics of the military agreement remain undisclosed, Reuters reported that Syria is evaluating possible assistance to Saudi Arabia in its war against the Iranian‑backed Houthi forces.

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

“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, speculating that Qatar would soon announce it is considering joining.

Danielle Greyman-Kennard contributed to this report.

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