Saudi Arabia is building regional defensive alliances, including a maritime coalition in the Red Sea and a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan, to avoid being pulled deeper into the war between the U.S. and Iran. So far the moves have not stopped attacks from Iran-aligned forces, including a renewed Houthi campaign from Yemen.
The kingdom is building alliances it hopes can deter attacks without dragging it into a wider war it did not choose. Analysts and diplomats told Reuters that a nascent Red Sea maritime coalition and a new defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan have so far failed to ward off attacks on the kingdom. As a result, Riyadh now faces a dilemma: protect its economic ambitions while avoiding entanglement in the broader regional conflict sparked by the war between the U.S. and Iran.
Mecca pact widens the circle
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan announced their joint defence agreement in Mecca last week, an arrangement Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said is technically the same as NATO's Article 5 and would require consultations before any support is provided to an attacked member. According to Reuters: "This is all very concerning and is exactly what Saudi Arabia wanted to avoid," said Aziz al-Ghashian, a Saudi analyst and senior non-resident fellow at the Gulf International Forum. He added that Iran and its affiliates had interpreted Saudi restraint as an acceptance of being targeted.
Yet the pact's practical scope stays unclear. Pakistan, under its pre-existing defence arrangement with Saudi Arabia, has sought to avoid direct military engagement with Iran or its allies despite the kingdom facing hundreds of missile and drone attacks. Iran, for its part, has framed the new pact as a step away from reliance on outside powers and said it sees no reason for concern, provided the pact correctly identifies the enemy and the threat it poses.
Red Sea coalition still forming
Two weeks ago, Saudi Arabia and the U.S. launched joint airstrikes on Iraqi militias they blamed for attacks on the kingdom, marking Riyadh's first announced retaliation of the war. Two days later, Saudi Arabia announced its intent to lead a maritime defence coalition in the Red Sea, and 14 regional countries have signed on so far, with more expected to join. European nations remain undecided, wary of how deeply the coalition could pull them into Yemen's war.
Yemen remains the sore spot
Yemen remains a particular sore spot for the kingdom. Its Houthis ended a four-year truce last month, declared a naval blockade and resumed attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, reviving memories of the 2019 attacks that halved Saudi oil production and exposing the kingdom to renewed geopolitical risk. Riyadh wants Yemen's government to lead any offensive this time and is pushing to formally launch the maritime coalition as soon as possible, with meetings planned in Jeddah this week.
Source: Investing.com
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