What could the Mecca defence pact mean for the US role in the Middle East?

A new mutual defence pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan has raised questions about the shifting geopolitical landscape of the Middle East, where fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran has prompted some countries to seek new arrangements to safeguard their security.The pact, termed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, was signed in the Saudi city of Mecca on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign joint defence agreement: What’s in it?list 2 of 3Houthi attacks on gov’t forces hint that a major battle in Yemen is brewinglist 3 of 3Saudi ⁠Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye sign defence deal amid regional turmoilend of list“The agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” a statement from the meeting reads.“It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states.”While it is not yet clear what such an agreement might look like in practice, analysts say the pact points to growing questions about the durability of US security...