Instability in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan sign a mutual defense pact

The Gulf country wants to strengthen its security alliances after being the target of fire from Iran, like other Washington allies in the region, and from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, backed by Tehran.

According to experts consulted by AFP, the pact sends a message to Tehran but also to Washington, perceived as an increasingly unreliable partner.

“The agreement aims strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that any armed attack against one of the three States will be considered an attack against all of them,” said the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Turkish presidency stated for its part that the defense agreement “does not target any particular country” and noted that it will contribute to “the preservation of peace and stability in our region,” the Director of Communication of the Turkish presidency, Burhanettin Duran, said in a statement.

The agreement, signed in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, had been debated for a long time “But recent events in the region have accelerated the pace,” a source close to the Saudi military told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The three Sunni Muslim countries participate in efforts to resolve the war between Iran and the United States, triggered in February by Israeli-American bombings against Tehran and which has shaken the world economy.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, country equipped with the atomic bomb, They were already bound by a mutual defense agreement concluded in September 2025.

In a message onnor is it linked to any nuclear ambition or arms race”.

Andreas Krieg, a security expert at King’s College London, calls the pact “one of the clearest signs to date that the Middle East moves away from a security order organized exclusively by the United States.”

This ad reinforces Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become the axis of regional security and to diversify his defense, he adds. For Turkey, which is a member of NATO, and Pakistan, it is about gain influence and attract Saudi investments.

The pact has been signed at a time when there seems to be a glimpse of progress regarding the Strait of Hormuz, key for the global transit of hydrocarbons.