The Mecca Pact is being tested. That’s exactly why it matters.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey built their new alliance to deter attacks. The Houthis — and Iran — now have every reason to find out where its red lines really are.
Less than six weeks after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed its ambitious new collective defense pact in Mecca, the agreement is already confronting the question that eventually comes for every military alliance: What happens when somebody decides to test it?
That question became considerably more sensitive this week after Saudi Arabia claimed its forces intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered restricted airspace around Islam’s holiest city.
Exactly where that drone was headed is contested, and the distinction matters. Saudi Arabia says the Houthis attempted to target Mecca and has called the security of the holy sites and pilgrims a “red line.” The Houthis deny that argument, claiming their operations are directed at Saudi military and oil infrastructure, not the holy city.
But while there is not yet enough publicly available evidence to independently establish the drone’s intended target, it’s safe to say it was a test nonetheless.
And if it was an attempted strike on Mecca, it’s hard to think of a bolder test of a security alliance between Islamic countries.
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