The governments of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan agreed to a mutual defense pact on Friday, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif traveling to Mecca for the signing ceremony.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said that the pact, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, is “intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all” (in this last respect, it seems to closely resemble NATO’s Article Five).
The agreement has been interpreted by many as a response to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East. According to the New York Times, factors that led the three countries to band together include “the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran; new attacks on Saudi Arabia that it has blamed on Iran’s allies in Yemen and Iraq; concerns about Israel’s expanding military actions; and doubts about the reliability of the United States.”
The agreement is similar to a bilateral defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed in September 2025, according to reporting by the Financial Times. The FT also quoted one anonymous source who framed the deal as “a prelude to more Saudi military action against the Houthis,” suggesting that Turkey and Pakistan could get more involved in that conflict, which has escalated considerably in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia also perceives threats from Iran-aligned militias in Iraq. On Thursday evening Reuters reported that Saudi Arabia had detected drone and missile movements that could indicate impending attacks. Saudi and U.S. forces last bombed Iraq on July 29, targeting what they claimed were Iraqi militia groups responsible for strikes on Saudi oil sites. It remains unclear whether future attacks emanating from Iraq would trigger the defense pact.
Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of Iran’s parliamentary committee on national security, responded to the deal with a post on X Friday, writing that “Saudis must know that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security.”
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