Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey forge trilateral defence pact in Mecca

On Friday in Mecca, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif concluded a year‑long set of talks by signing a joint defence agreement. The document creates a trilateral security framework in which an armed attack on any of the three parties is to be treated as an attack on all.

Key terms and ambiguities

The statement released by the three governments stresses that the pact is intended to bolster collective deterrence against aggression. It does not detail the specific military commitments each country has undertaken, nor does it spell out how far the parties would be bound to intervene in each other's defence.

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz clarified that "the accord was not aimed at any specific country". A Turkish official added that the arrangement is purely defensive and does not override any existing agreements with other states.

Strategic backdrop

The signing comes at a time when the Gulf region is under pressure from Iranian missile activity and Israeli air operations. Since the United States and Israel struck Iran on 28 February, Iranian forces and allied militias have launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan and Israel, while also disrupting energy shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Israel, meanwhile, continues its war in Gaza, has carried out incursions into southern Lebanon, seized territory in Syria and has conducted two air campaigns against Iran following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack.

For Saudi Arabia, three years of conflict have jeopardised oil exports and long‑term development plans, prompting questions about the reliability of its traditional US security guarantees. Turkey and Pakistan, though not directly targeted, remain wary of the spill‑over effects on their own security and economies.

Combined military weight

The three signatories bring together substantial capabilities: Turkey operates NATO's second‑largest armed forces, Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading oil exporter and custodian of Islam’s holiest sites, and Pakistan is the only Muslim‑majority state possessing nuclear weapons.

Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy Rayed Krimly wrote on social media that the accord "does not represent a military axis or sectarian bloc, nor is it linked to nuclear ambitions or an arms race".

Analytical perspectives

Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, said the framework could enhance the three countries’ diplomatic and defence influence while fostering a more regionally driven security architecture.

Analysts interpret the pact as a move to counter Iranian influence and to create a deterrent against Israel, rather than a step toward direct confrontation with Tehran. Burcu Ozcelik, senior research fellow for Middle East Security at the RUSI think‑tank, noted that the objective appears to be the opposite of escalation.

Existing cooperation and next steps

Pakistan has long provided training and technical assistance to Saudi forces, and Turkey and Pakistan have exchanged warships and training aircraft. Saudi Arabia is a major buyer of Turkish drones.

Pakistan currently has about 8,000 troops, fighter jets, drones and an air‑defence system deployed in the kingdom, and is negotiating with Kuwait for security cooperation in return for energy investment.

Both Pakistan and Turkey have expressed support for a maritime defence coalition announced by Saudi Arabia to protect regional shipping lanes and energy routes.

Last year Pakistan signed a bilateral mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia, but it has not yet taken military action in response to Iranian attacks on the kingdom, and it has downplayed suggestions that its nuclear deterrent could be extended to allies.

International reactions

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office declined to comment on the agreement. A spokesperson for India’s Foreign Ministry said the development was being closely monitored. Iran had not provided an immediate response.

First reported by the original source.