Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan Sign Defense Pact Excluding Iran
Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, clarified that the recently signed defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey is not aimed at Iran or any other country. The 'Mecca Joint Defense Agreement' was signed in Mecca on Friday by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The agreement brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia and nuclear power Pakistan with Turkey's NATO membership and rapidly growing defense industry. It deepens cooperation and deterrence in a region experiencing increased uncertainty and threats from the war in Iran.
Fidan emphasized that the three countries do not view any particular state as an adversary unless they take hostile action against them. He likened the agreement's clause on mutual defense to NATO's Article 5, stating that an attack on one of the member states would be considered an attack on all of them.