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

Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday that a defense agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is not directed at Iran or any other country, characterizing it instead as a measure to strengthen regional stability.

The pact was signed Friday in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Under its terms, an attack on any one of the three nations would be treated as an attack on all three.

The agreement unites Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer; Pakistan, a nuclear power; and Turkey, which has NATO's second-largest military and an expanding defense sector. It represents deepened cooperation and deterrence amid heightened regional uncertainty and threats stemming from the war in Iran.

In remarks to Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated that the three signatories do not target any specific nation as an adversary unless it acts with hostility 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 drew a parallel between the mutual defense clause and NATO's Article 5, under which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all 32.

On implementation, Fidan explained that a member seeking assistance would need to formally request it, with aid potentially ranging from intelligence and logistics to military deployment depending on the scale of the threat.

"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, noting he anticipates Egypt, which he called a "natural partner," May participate at a future stage.

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