Turkey’s foreign minister says Ankara weighing Saudi defense support, rules out offensive role

ANKARA — Turkey is assessing how it can help Saudi Arabia defend against attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants under a joint defense pact with Pakistan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday, ruling out Turkish participation in offensive operations. Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The three countries have since held political and military meetings in response to the Houthi attacks. On Monday, the countries said they had agreed to move immediately…