Turkey, Pakistan, and Syria have each rejected claims of direct military involvement in Yemen, statements that collide with a growing body of media reporting on active combat operations.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan declared Thursday that his country has no plans to deploy troops to fight Yemen on behalf of Saudi Arabia, insisting that the so-called "Mecca pact" signed in July by Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia is a "defense pact, not a pact of offense."
"Turkey will not send soldiers to another country for an assault," Fidan told a joint news conference in Ankara with visiting Hungarian Foreign Minister Anita Orban.
"Saudi Arabia already has a major military infrastructure; they have a high amount of weapons, munitions and defense elements accumulated over the years."
Fidan did, however, acknowledge that Ankara is considering military assistance to Saudi Arabia — a carefully worded concession that leaves the door open to the very involvement he appeared to deny.
Conflicting accounts from the battlefield
The Turkish foreign minister's remarks came amid a flurry of reports that Ankara had already dispatched forces and equipment to the kingdom.
The Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported that Ankara would provide low- and medium-altitude aerial defense systems to Saudi Arabia, along with assistance in drone technologies and electronic warfare.
According to the same report, Saudi Arabia is working to establish a base for Turkish troops within its territory.
Turkiye Gazetesi went further, reporting that over 200 military personnel, alongside significant quantities of Turkish electronic warfare systems and ground- and air-defense missiles, have been sent to Saudi Arabia since the Mecca pact was formed.
Turkish defense systems, the paper claimed, are being used extensively against Yemeni forces and to enhance the combat capabilities of Saudi-backed mercenaries in Yemen.
Earlier this week, Fidan and Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler joined Pakistani officials in Riyadh for the second meeting of the Strategic Political and Defense Committee of the Mecca alliance — a gathering that, according to a joint statement, resolved to "immediately proceed with the practical implementation of collective defense commitments."
Pakistan: Denials amid confirmations
Pakistan's role has proven equally contentious. Media reports said Pakistani fighter jets have been striking Yemeni armed forces following the activation of the Mecca pact this week.
"Pakistan Air Force fighter jets were being used in strikes" against the Yemeni Armed Forces, The New York Times cited a senior Pakistani military official as saying. Pakistani military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also confirmed that his country's forces are in the kingdom.
"The forces of Pakistan are already there. That I can share with you," he told CNN.
At least 8,000 Pakistani troops have been deployed to Saudi Arabia this year as part of the defense pact, along with fighter jets, Reuters reported.
Yet Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Ministry rejected the claim of airstrikes outright, calling it "fake and fabricated" and urging international media to avoid "speculative reporting" on deployments under the Mecca pact.
Saudi Arabia has also reportedly asked Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, the head of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led regime in Damascus, to send extremist fighters from the Syrian army to Yemen.
Citing three US officials, Axios reported Thursday that Saudi Arabia and Syria have been discussing the deployment of up to 20,000 militants to Yemen to support the Saudi-backed offensive against Yemeni armed forces.
The plan was green-lighted by the administration of US President Donald Trump and US Central Command, according to the report, with al-Jolani reportedly seriously considering the request.
The Syrian units under consideration reportedly include the Syrian military's 90th and 84th Divisions, the latter reportedly including extremist foreign fighters who fought under HTS.
"Sending Syrian troops could inject a religious dimension into the Yemen war and exacerbate the conflict," Axios noted, as the Syrian army consists of Takfiri militants who regard Shia Muslims, including those in Yemen, as outside the faith.
A US official said it is "highly likely" that Jolani — previously affiliated with al-Qaeda and Daesh and who took power in Damascus in December 2024 after 14 years of foreign-backed militancy — will accept the Saudi request.
Jolani's media advisor, Ahmad Muwaffaq Zaidan, rejected the Axios report as "lies with no basis in truth."
Al-Jolani met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday. Syria's news agency SANA said the two sides discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties, economic cooperation, and Syria's reconstruction.
Damascus stressed its support for Saudi Arabia but said it does not plan to open new fronts.
The Syrian ministry of information denied "claims that Syria is joining the war in Yemen," adding that "Syria's position is clear: we stand firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in confronting threats targeting its security and stability."
"At the same time, Syria's policy in the region is based on stability, peace and cooperation, not on opening new fronts," it added, according to state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
The statement emphasized that "any military cooperation with partner countries will take place only through official channels and existing bilateral frameworks."
The developments unfold against the backdrop of a rapidly shifting battlefield. Yemeni military and Ansarullah fighters have advanced swiftly along Yemen's Western coast and seized control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait — a strategic chokepoint of global significance.
Yemeni armed forces continue to consolidate their positions, taking additional measures to counter any attempt by Saudi-backed mercenaries to compensate for their losses.
For nearly a decade, Saudi Arabia has enforced a crippling land, sea, and air blockade that the United Nations has repeatedly described as a primary driver of the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
The siege has deliberately targeted Yemen's ability to import food, fuel, and medicine, while simultaneously attempting to plunder the nation's oil and gas resources.
Utilizing advanced asymmetric naval capabilities, including drones and missiles, Yemen has shifted from a purely defensive posture to an active pressure campaign.
The strategy is designed to inflict direct economic and military costs on the Saudi regime until the siege is permanently lifted, the war is ended, and Yemen's full sovereignty is restored.
me until the siege is permanently lifted, the war is ended, and Yemen's full sovereignty is restored.
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