Turkey Says Defense Pact With Saudi Arabia and Pakistan Is Not Aimed at Iran or Any Other Country

A defense agreement signed Friday by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is not directed against Iran or any other country, Turkey's foreign minister stated Saturday, characterizing the pact as a step toward regional stability.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the accord in Mecca. The agreement stipulates that an attack on one signatory would be considered an attack on all three.

The "Mecca Joint Defense Agreement" Unites oil-rich Saudi Arabia, nuclear-armed Pakistan, and Turkey, which hosts NATO's second-largest military and a growing defense sector. The pact strengthens cooperation and deterrence amid heightened regional uncertainty.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the three nations do not regard any specific country as an adversary unless it acts hostilely toward them. "We don't have anything written down, nothing we've signed, that defines a common threat," Fidan said. "Any country that does not attack us is not a target for us."

Fidan compared the mutual defense clause to NATO's Article 5, under which an attack on any member is treated as an attack on all 32 members.

Regarding implementation, Fidan explained that a member would need to formally request assistance, which could range from intelligence and logistic support to military deployment depending on the threat's scale. "These are multi‑layered matters that vary according to the scale of the threat," Fidan said. "This is the perspective we have set out so far in our work."

Fidan indicated that other unnamed nations have expressed interest in joining. He added that Egypt, which he described as a "natural partner," Is expected to participate in a future stage.

The agreement establishes regular committee meetings among the three countries' foreign and defense ministers and military leaders, with a secretariat to be based in Saudi Arabia.