Turkey and Pakistan have agreed to deploy troops to Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Alliance, a multilateral security pact that some analysts call "Islamic NATO." The move represents the grouping's first combat test, as Saudi Arabia and its allies press on with military action against Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.

Qatar has cautioned that the wider conflict with Iran is imposing costs on the entire world. Mediation efforts are still in progress, but no ceasefire has been reached. The Mecca Alliance agreement points to a turning point toward collective military action among several Muslim-majority states in the region.