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Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan chiefs of staff to meet under defence pact amid Houthi attacks
The Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani foreign ministers condemned attacks targeting Mecca and other civilian sites, while affirming Saudi Arabia’s right to defend itself, the statement said
- PUBLISHED: Fri 25 Sept 2026, 8:45 AM
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will hold an urgent, high-level meeting under a joint defence pact to discuss ways to support the kingdom amid attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, while Tehran sought to distance itself from the rapid advance of its Houthi allies.
The Houthis have launched strikes against the Saudi-backed government in Yemen and repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia, adding another layer of complexity to the wider Middle East war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
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Emergency alerts in Saudi Arabia
The Houthis claimed that they had fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets on Thursday, while authorities in Saudi Arabia said they had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Houthi fighters.
Saudi Arabia earlier had issued emergency alerts for areas including the holy city of Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu, the main Saudi Red Sea oil port.
Amid the fighting, the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, according to a Saudi foreign ministry statement.
They condemned the attacks targeting Mecca and other civilian sites while affirming Saudi Arabia's right to defend itself, the statement said.
"The ministers also discussed arrangements for holding an urgent meeting of the chiefs of staff of the three countries to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, which stipulates that an attack against any one of the parties constitutes an attack against all parties," the statement said.
The meeting was announced shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian sought to distance Iran from the Houthis in an American television interview on Thursday.
"The Houthis are responsible for their own actions," Pezeshkian told the Fox News program "Special Report with Bret Baier" a day after he appeared before the UN General Assembly in New York.
The Pezeshkian interview and speech took place amid a pause in fighting between the US and Iran and a brief attempt at diplomacy in New York, with Qatar serving as intermediary between the warring parties.
Iran's conditions to end war
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Thursday that Tehran had conveyed a proposal to the United States via intermediaries under which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened if Tehran’s conditions were met.
Under Iran’s proposal, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Lebanon, within seven days. The United States would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, he said.
“The Strait of Hormuz will be reopened on the last day,” Araghchi said, adding that talks with the United States on other issues, including Iran’s nuclear issue, would then start.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that Tehran was reviewing Washington's response to its peace proposals.
The war, which US President Donald Trump launched alongside Israel in February, has killed thousands of people and disrupted global energy supplies, pushing up oil prices.
Economic warfare
With the US-Israeli war against Iran largely stalemated for months on the battlefield, Washington has announced a shift in tactics to extend the reach of its financial sanctions by targeting companies from third countries that do business with Iranian firms, a practice known as "secondary sanctions".
Iranian airlines were barred from neighbouring countries on Thursday in response to new US sanctions, the first big impact of a shift in US policy to target companies in third countries that do business with Iran.
A flight ban, if sustained, could deepen Iran's isolation and worsen an economic crisis in the country, which is already facing a US blockade of its ports at sea.