Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye Sign ‘Mecca Joint Defense Pact’ Amid Rising Middle East Tensions

 

Kathmandu: Amid escalating military tensions and conflicts in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye have signed a new defense agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation among the three countries.

The trilateral agreement, signed on Friday and named the ‘Mecca Joint Defense Pact,’ is expected to strengthen collective security and defense cooperation while promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond.

According to Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the agreement establishes that an attack on any one of the three member states will be considered an attack on all three. Pakistan said the provision would strengthen their collective deterrence capabilities.

The agreement came shortly after a series of high-level meetings in Saudi Arabia. A day before the signing, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Asim Munir arrived in Saudi Arabia and performed Umrah in Mecca. On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also arrived in Saudi Arabia and held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Growing concerns over regional security

Since the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran on February 28, Saudi Arabia has increasingly faced security threats from Iran and groups aligned with Tehran, including Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Shia armed groups in Iraq.

The conflict has raised concerns over Saudi Arabia’s oil exports and ambitious development plans. It has also prompted questions about the reliability of the decades-old US security umbrella in the region.

The Middle East has experienced major upheaval in recent years. The situation became significantly more complicated following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. The longstanding hostility between Iran and Israel has also developed into a direct regional conflict.

Against this backdrop, several Middle Eastern countries have increasingly sought pragmatic cooperation while attempting to set aside some of their longstanding differences, according to reports.

Questions over implementation

Although the agreement states that an attack on one member will be treated as an attack on all, it remains unclear how the provision would work in practice.

Pakistan has been facing border tensions with Afghanistan since February and also engaged in clashes with India in May 2025. Saudi Arabia continues to face security challenges from Iran and its allied groups, while Türkiye has been fighting Kurdish armed groups both inside and outside the country for years. Relations between Türkiye and Israel have also deteriorated.

This raises questions over whether Türkiye and Pakistan would become directly involved if Yemen’s Houthis launched an attack on Saudi Arabia. At present, it remains unclear how the two countries would respond militarily.

Experts say Israel represents one of the most significant regional security concerns for all three countries, while Iran is another major challenge for Saudi Arabia.

Possibility of expanding the alliance

There has also been discussion about the possibility of countries such as Egypt, Qatar, Syria and the United Arab Emirates joining the emerging security framework.

However, each of these countries has its own political constraints and strategic interests.

Syria is focused on reconstruction after more than a decade of civil war. Given its location near Israel, Damascus may also be reluctant to join an alliance that could expose it to additional security risks.

Egypt, meanwhile, is primarily focused on addressing economic challenges and maintaining domestic political stability.

The new defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye is therefore being viewed as a significant development in the changing security landscape and balance of power in the Middle East.