Iran-backed Houthis just gave Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s new defense pact its first test

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey’s brand-new collective defense pact has already been handed its first real-world test — but the jury is still out on whether the Mecca Pact will be worth more than the paper it was written on.

Almost exactly one month after the three regional powers pledged to consider a military attack against any one of them an attack against all, Iran-backed Houthi forces struck civilian and energy facilities across Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding a whopping 73 people and temporarily disrupting operations at some energy sites.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif quickly made clear where Islamabad stood.

“I condemn in the strongest terms, the cowardly attack by Houthis targeting civilian and energy facilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which have left many people injured,” Sharif said Tuesday.

“Pakistan stands in unwavering solidarity with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

The statement would have been unsurprising even a year ago. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have maintained close military and political ties for decades.

But since Aug. 7, those words carry considerably more weight.

That day, Sharif joined Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Makkah to sign the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, a sweeping trilateral pact designed to formalize and expand defense cooperation among three of the Muslim world’s most powerful states.

Its central provision is strikingly straightforward: “Any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”

Riyadh, Islamabad and Ankara said the deal was meant to strengthen “collective deterrence against any act of aggression” — and doubling-downing on defense cooperation between the capitals.

Now, with the signatures on the pact just barely dried, Tehran is testing their commitment.

The Iran-backed Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones against targets in southern Saudi Arabia Tuesday, according to Saudi authorities and the group itself. Civilian sites in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan and Najran were hit, while fires burst out at several energy-related facilities.

Among the 73 people wounded were women and children.

Operations at some facilities were temporarily halted as emergency crews put out fires and assessed the damage, The Saudi Energy Ministry said — an especially sensitive point for the world’s largest oil exporter amid broader instability across the Middle East.

The Houthis claimed they targeted Saudi Aramco facilities and King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, among other sites.

Saudi Arabia called the strikes a “dangerous escalation.”

Sharif went further than simply condemning them, deliberately invoking the same concepts at the heart of the new defense agreement.

“Such dastardly attacks threaten innocent lives as well as regional peace and security,” the Pakistani leader said. “We reaffirm our steadfast support for the Kingdom’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and pray for the swift recovery of all those injured.”

Still, no action outside of a statement has been reported.

The question now is what “support” will mean under an agreement designed to prevent attacks and make aggression against one member a concern of all.