"From the moment you say the pact is open to other parties, and your first real target ends up being an Iranian proxy force, what does that imply for the future of the pact or where it might lead?" asks Betul Dogan Akkas, assistant professor of international relations at Ankara University
The first true test of the Mecca Mutual Defense Pact, which is presenting itself with a focus on the Houthis rather than Israel, does not align easily with the rhetoric of Islamic solidarity through which the agreement was promoted, states Betul Dogan Akkas, assistant professor of international relations at Ankara University. "The Mecca Mutual Defense Pact may be used, for the first time, to present itself as a mechanism for defending the lands of Islam, rather than being framed around the Israeli threat in Gaza or Palestine, which would have been the most obvious approach," Akkas told Al Jazeera. "Using the Houthi threat as the primary framework is not necessarily positive for the long-term image and perception of the pact," she noted. "Even if you are not targeting Israel or Western nations, ultimately you are still targeting a Muslim country, a Muslim nation.
This makes it somewhat controversial and difficult" highlighted the analyst, pointing out that the Houthis are Zaidite Shia Muslims backed by Iran, a dynamic that, according to Dogan Akkas, complicates the pact's declared intent to remain open to future members
"From the moment you say the pact is open to other parties, and your first real target ends up being an Iranian proxy force, what does that imply for the future of the pact or where it might lead?" she said.
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