A New Middle East Power Struggle Is Taking Shape in the Red Sea

AI Summary

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are forming a defense bloc under the Mecca pact, with Turkey’s parliament expected to ratify the agreement and Egypt authorizing its president to defend Saudi territory. The emerging alignment is framed as a new regional power struggle involving Israel and competing security networks in the Middle East.

Israel’s security establishment, in a panic of its own design, is referring to the Turkish-led defense bloc forming around Saudi Arabia as a “Sunni ring of fire,” the successor to the Shiite ring Iran built from Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iraqi militias. The bloc’s founding document is the Mecca pact, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, with Turkey’s parliament set to ratify this week, just days after Egypt’s parliament voted to let Sisi defend Saudi territory. For Riyadh, this bloc is intended to defend…