Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan to sign joint defence pact amid regional escalation

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan are set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah. The pact aims to strengthen regional security ties amid escalating tensions in the region. The meeting will be attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The region has seen a surge in violence, with Yemen's Houthis launching an attack on southern Saudi Arabia, wounding 11 civilians, including a 4-year-old child with second-degree burns. The attack injured seven Saudis, one Yemeni, two Egyptians, and one Pakistani national, according to Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition. The Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, have been involved in a decade-long conflict with Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-led coalition has warned that coordinated attacks by the Houthis and Iran-backed Iraqi militias are imminent, targeting civilian and economic sites, including energy infrastructure, ports, and airports. The escalating tensions have complicated Saudi Arabia's security calculations, particularly with the ongoing US-Iran conflict.

Brief written by urgent.news from Euronews, Daily Maverick, Middle East Eye, Jerusalem Post, Free Malaysia Today — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — read the original for the full account.