Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have signed a joint defence agreement, pledging that an attack on any one of them will be considered an attack on all three. The agreement was announced on August 7, 2026, during a meeting in the Saudi city of Mecca attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

This new Mecca Joint Defence Agreement brings together three of the world's most powerful Muslim nations to provide mutual defence guarantees and enhance all aspects of defence cooperation among them. It aims to strengthen collective deterrence against aggression and includes provisions for joint production, technology partnerships, procurement, and greater military interoperability.

The pact follows heightened regional tensions after the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, prompting Tehran and its allies to strike targets in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Last month, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who control much of north-west Yemen, announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and targeted Saudi airports, oil facilities, and tankers in the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already announced a joint defence pact last year. According to Burcu Ozcelik of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, the agreement offers opportunities for defence industries through enhanced cooperation.

However, the Mecca agreement has drawn sharp criticism from Tehran. Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of Iran's National Security Commission, wrote on his X platform that "a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan does not bring [Saudi Arabia] security, just as years of unilateral milking of the Americans did not bring them security."

The pact reflects a broader recalibration of defence strategies across the Gulf region amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Sources