This will mark the first time that the Mecca Alliance has been invoked and it also comes as the recognized government of Yemen has launched a counteroffensive that they say is intended to fully wrest control of the country from Ansar Allah.
There’s a lot of information flying around about military movements in Yemen, with the recognized government claiming that they took back control of the coastal city of Mokha (once a massive exporter of coffee from which the term mocha is derived) that was lost about a month ago and Ansar Allah claiming that the city of Taizz (which is Yemen’s third largest city) has now been fully cut off and surrounded.
One thing of interest to watch for is Iran’s reaction to this. Iran has previously had little issue against bombing Saudi Arabia and other overseas countries that do not directly border it, but they have been much more reluctant to antagonize direct neighbors with strong land forces (aside from in Iraq where Iran holds much influence over significant local militias) so it is unclear what sort of response they may have for Turkey and Pakistan. And for their part Turkey and Pakistan are very uninterested in war with Iran due to economic and stability concerns. Yet, Ansar Allah is one of Iran’s more powerful remaining allies so this escalation demands some kind of response lest they lose standing.