Turkey's foreign minister says Ankara weighing Saudi defence support, rules out offensive role

Turkey is considering how it can help Saudi Arabia defend against attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants. This is under a joint defence pact with Pakistan, which was signed in August along with Saudi Arabia. The pact, known as the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, considers an armed attack on one member as an attack on all.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said military officials from Turkey and Pakistan are assessing possible contributions, particularly in air defence, electronic warfare and technical support. The talks focus on defensive support, with Fidan ruling out Turkish participation in offensive operations.

The three countries have held political and military meetings in response to the Houthi attacks, agreeing to immediately implement their collective defence commitments. According to Middle East Eye, they also agreed on the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Daily Times, Middle East Eye, Ajel English — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.