Middle East latest: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey ink joint defence deal in Mecca amid rising hostilities
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a trilateral defence agreement under which an attack on any of one of the three countries would be treated as an attack on all.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a trilateral defence agreement under which an attack on any of one of the three countries would be treated as an attack on all.
The agreement was announced following talks in the Saudi city of Mecca between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoga and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The pact comes months after the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, triggering retalitatory strikes by Tehran and its allies on targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf States.
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Iran reacted sharply to the new agreement, with a senior Iranian lawmaker dismissing it as ineffective.
“The Saudis should know that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan does not bring them security, just as years of unilateral milking of the Americans did not bring them security,” member of National Security commission Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already entered into a bilateral defence agreement last year, but the new Mecca Joint Defence Agreement expands that framework to include Turkey, creating a three-way security arrangement among some of the Muslim world’s most influential nations.
According to a joint statement, the pact aims “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”.
“It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence co-operation among the three States.”
While the pact commits the three countries to mutual defence, it does not outline the specific military or political obligations each nation would be required to fulfil in the event of an attack.
A Turkish official quotes by Reuters described the agreement as “purely defensive in nature”.
he three countries each bring different strategic strengths and interests to the partnership.
While Turkey and Pakistan, on the borders of the Middle East, have avoided significant direct attacks, both are anxious to calm conflicts that threaten their own security and economic health.
For Saudi Arabia, the consequences of three years of Middle East conflicts have been more severe - imperilling its oil exports and ambitious development plans and drawing big questions over the reliability of its longstanding US security umbrella.
Israel has waged war in Gaza, invaded southern Lebanon and seized territory in Syria as well as launching two air campaigns against Iran. Tehran has attacked US bases and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan and Israel.
