Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sign mutual defence pact as Gulf tensions escalate

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey have signed a mutual defence treaty in Mecca that treats an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all three, a move that redraws security alignments across the Middle East while the US and Iran remain locked in open conflict.

The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, announced on Friday by the three governments, commits the signatories to collective deterrence and military cooperation. Pakistan's foreign ministry said the pact "stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all." For Riyadh, the accord marks a deliberate diversification of security partnerships after repeated missile and drone strikes on its oil infrastructure and shipping lanes since the US-Iran war erupted.

Regional context drives the pact

The signing comes as Iranian-backed Houthi rebels intensify attacks on Saudi-backed forces in Yemen and commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz. ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi state oil giant, said on Friday that 15 of its tankers had been hit since the conflict began, with one crew member killed and 20 injured. Energy markets have reacted sharply; Brent crude has climbed above $83 a barrel on supply fears.

At the same time, the US has blockaded Iranian ports and sanctioned cryptocurrency exchanges accused of funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. A US official told Reuters that a deal between Iran and Oman to restore unimpeded shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is expected soon, which would trigger a lifting of the blockade.

Managing alliances and perceptions

Turkey moved quickly to reassure NATO allies. The government's anti-disinformation service posted on X that the agreement "is not in contradiction with the commitments of Turkey's existing international alliances, including those at the heart of NATO." Communications director Burhanettin Duran added the pact was "not aimed at any particular country" and was open to other regional states.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly echoed that language, stating the deal "does not represent an effort to establish a military axis or a sectarian bloc" and was not linked to "any nuclear ambitions", a pointed reference to Pakistan's arsenal.

Iran watches, warns of unity

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi praised his country's armed forces for confronting "the world's most expensive military" and urged Muslim nations to "unite and rely on themselves in the face of hostile outsiders." He did not explicitly mention the new pact, but the timing of his remarks, hours after the Mecca signing, was widely read as a response.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Saudi intelligence chief Khalid al-Humaidan in Baghdad on Friday, pledging that Iraq would not allow its territory to be used for attacks on neighbours. The meeting followed Saudi warnings of imminent coordinated strikes by Iraqi militias from the north and Houthis from the south under IRGC direction.

What happens next

The treaty's operational details, command structures, intelligence sharing, force contributions, have not been published. Analysts expect a gradual rollout, beginning with joint exercises and air-defence coordination. The pact also opens the door for other Sunni-majority states to join, potentially expanding into a wider regional security architecture.

For now, the agreement gives Riyadh a formal security partner in Ankara, a NATO member with advanced drone and electronic-warfare capabilities, and in Islamabad, a nuclear power with a large standing army. Whether that deters further Iranian or proxy attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure will be the test of the pact's credibility.