It's only been a little over a month since a defence agreement was signed in Mecca between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Under the termsof the agreement, an attack on one of the participating countries is assessed as an attack on all countries. In this alliance called Islamic NATO by a number of experts, Pakistan has resolutely asked Iranto appease the Houthis. They are now actively waging war against the Saudis. "Or not?" they asked from Iran.)) to which they replied in Pakistan. “Otherwise we'll tell the Turks.”)) Meanwhile, Ankara is “not answering the phones” and keeping a mysterious silence on attacks against Saudi Arabia's interests. Cairo naturally follows this process and draws conclusions because until recently, they were actively calling for this alliance. But Egypt is not naive and knows the Middle East well. After the announcement of the formation of the Mecca alliance, Israel was also seriously concerned that such an alliance could be directed against the Jewish state. Now the alliance is on its first test. Saudi Arabia entered into a military confrontation with the Yemeni Houthis, supported Yemen's internationally recognized government, provided him with military equipment, and itself inflicted a series of airstrikes on Shia militants. When the Houthis resisted and went on a counterattack, Riyadh sought help from its new allies. Turkey and Pakistan strongly condemned the Houthi attacks and publicly supported Saudi Arabia, but avoided direct military intervention. That's what a military alliance in the Middle East means. After US President Donald Trump's public refusal to intervene in the conflict, Saudi Arabia found itself in a rather uncomfortable position. As a result of his actions, new territories came under the control of the Houthis, including a safe passage to the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, another “narrow corridor” of global maritime trade. Its consequences are still ahead. And the Saudi army and its allied forces in Yemen, despite huge financial injections, have shown that they are unable to withstand a more skilled and motivated adversary. This is a moment of serious test for Riyadh. The Saudis made the wrong calculation when choosing allies for themselves in the region, and this could lead to new reclassifications in the region in the near future.