This is one outlet's own report from Tehran Times — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sign joint defense pact
TEHRAN - Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defense agreement, officially known as the Mecca Defense Pact, on Friday, deepening security cooperation.
Turkey has NATO's second-largest military. Saudi Arabia, the strongest Arab state in the Persian Gulf region, is home to Islam's holiest sites and one of the world's top oil exporters, while Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim country.
Analysts say Saudi Arabia’s defense pact with the two heavyweight Muslim nations shows that Washington is now seen as an increasingly unreliable partner.
The NATO-like agreement states that an armed attack on any one of the three countries would be regarded as an attack against them all.
In a joint statement, the three countries declared a "shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond."
The deal comes a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by powerful army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Saudi Arabia and performed the Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca.
"Although taking place against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the (Persian) Gulf, the visit will carry significance beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said on Thursday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also travelled to Saudi Arabia on Friday to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The deal among the three countries follows nearly a year of negotiations. Sealing the agreement in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam, adds symbolic heft to a pact that builds on longstanding bilateral military ties.
Pakistan has provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces for decades, while Turkey and Pakistan have exchanged warships and training aircraft. In 2023, Riyadh agreed to buy Turkish drones in what Ankara called its largest defense export contract.
"The pact includes a collective defense clause. It is purely defensive in nature, pledging mutual support only for defense," a Turkish official said.
The official added the agreement was not directed against any specific actor, was open to other regional countries, and did not abrogate or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements.
"The political symbolism of the summit is significant. Three of the Muslim world's most influential states are convening at a moment of heightened uncertainty, demonstrating a growing willingness among regional and middle powers to coordinate more closely on security matters," said Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, a Saudi-based think tank.
"If institutionalized and translated into concrete cooperation, the trilateral framework could strengthen the three countries' collective diplomatic and defense weight while contributing to the emergence of a more regionally driven security architecture," Sager added.
Pakistan has deployed about 8,000 troops, fighter jets, drones and an air-defense system to the kingdom, Reuters reported in May, and has pursued wider security ties in the Persian Gulf region. It has opened negotiations with Kuwait over an expanded pact in exchange for energy cooperation and investment, Reuters reported in July.
Umar Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy at the University of Birmingham, called the deal a "highly significant development".
Mansoor Ahmed, of the Australian National University's Strategic and Defense Studies Centre, said Pakistan and Turkey bring strong defense industries to the table, while Saudi Arabia could contribute with technological spending.
However, the accord would likely not include a nuclear component with Pakistan's atomic deterrent focused on what it sees as the threat from India, Ahmed added.
Andreas Krieg of King's College London said the deal showed a clear desire to diversify alliances beyond the United States.
"Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are not trying to replace the United States. They are building the capacity to protect their interests when Washington cannot or will not do so," Krieg pointed out.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.
