Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pactAdnoc reports 15 ships hit in Hormuz as Iranian oil exports stallUS says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tollsWHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000US economy sheds 23,000 jobs as hiring figures are revised downThree killed in strikes on Kyiv suburb as Russian forces press toward SlovianskHouthi strikes on Yemeni army camps spill over into Saudi ArabiaUN index puts global food prices at a three-year highOpenAI halts part of Astra development as Chinese model escapes UK sandboxBrain injuries dominate as Iranian strikes wound nearly 700 US troopsAI models design working bacteriophage genomesUS Senate passes Russia and Iran sanctions billUS intelligence links Russia to explosive drone at Leipzig airportIsraeli ministers press to resume Gaza offensiveTop US commander seeks off-ramp from Iran warStudent opens fire at Thai school, killing at least fiveChina's exports jump almost a quarter 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tightens sanctionsHaitians face arrest and deportation as US ends TPS protectionsCopper heads for record close as US and China compete for supplyIsraeli troops withdraw from Qalandiya camp after two-day raidHalf of England and all of Wales in drought after driest July on recordTyphoon Dolphin forces almost 260,000 to evacuate in southern JapanCanada offers concessions to avert 50 percent US tariffsUS reviews Chinese access to Nvidia chips in offshore data centresEU presses Meta and TikTok as Spain and Morocco reinforce CeutaFAA orders crack inspections on about 470 Boeing 737 MAX jetsUS urges Israel to ease Lebanon tensions as Rome talks continueChina vows countermeasures over Philippine actions at Scarborough ShoalIndia's nuclear-armed submarine accelerates arms race with PakistanSpain imposes border checks on travellers from Italy in Schengen rowPezeshkian rejects resignation calls as war promises go unmetMeta ordered to pay $567 million over harm to young usersSaudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pactAdnoc reports 15 ships hit in Hormuz as Iranian oil exports stallUS says Hormuz reopening deal is close as Iran presses for transit tollsWHO urges Ervebo trial as Congo's Ebola cases pass 4,000US economy sheds 23,000 jobs as hiring figures are revised downThree killed in strikes on Kyiv suburb as Russian forces press toward SlovianskHouthi strikes on Yemeni army camps spill over into Saudi ArabiaUN index puts global food prices at a three-year highOpenAI halts part of Astra development as Chinese model escapes UK sandboxBrain injuries dominate as Iranian strikes wound nearly 700 US troopsAI models design working bacteriophage genomesUS Senate passes Russia and Iran sanctions billUS intelligence links Russia to explosive drone at Leipzig airportIsraeli ministers press to resume Gaza offensiveTop US commander seeks off-ramp from Iran warStudent opens fire at Thai school, killing at least fiveChina's exports jump almost a quarter in JulyUN warns Sudan's war is closing schools for millionsUkraine halts Black Sea farm exports after strikes on OdesaDe la Espriella sworn in as Colombia's presidentUkrainian drones hit Wildberries warehouse deep inside RussiaChina's rare-earth exports fall as Beijing expands Bayan Obo mineOil falls on Hormuz hopes as gold ends week higherUS intelligence warns Russia may provoke NATOTrump signs orders restricting birthright citizenshipIran's nuclear programme slowed but not stopped, assessment findsTrump unveils minerals and battery deals to counter ChinaUS long-range missile stocks run low as Trump denies shortageSK Hynix to invest $38 billion in chip capacityYen gives back half its gains after US-Japan interventionChina overtakes US in research spendingVenezuela's government and opposition meet under US mediationUS-Saudi nuclear deal raises proliferation questionsTrump renews bid to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook after court setbackCuba paralysed by total blackouts as Washington tightens sanctionsHaitians face arrest and deportation as US ends TPS protectionsCopper heads for record close as US and China compete for supplyIsraeli troops withdraw from Qalandiya camp after two-day raidHalf of England and all of Wales in drought after driest July on recordTyphoon Dolphin forces almost 260,000 to evacuate in southern JapanCanada offers concessions to avert 50 percent US tariffsUS reviews Chinese access to Nvidia chips in offshore data centresEU presses Meta and TikTok as Spain and Morocco reinforce CeutaFAA orders crack inspections on about 470 Boeing 737 MAX jetsUS urges Israel to ease Lebanon tensions as Rome talks continueChina vows countermeasures over Philippine actions at Scarborough ShoalIndia's nuclear-armed submarine accelerates arms race with PakistanSpain imposes border checks on travellers from Italy in Schengen rowPezeshkian rejects resignation calls as war promises go unmetMeta ordered to pay $567 million over harm to young users
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Symbolic image: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pactSymbolic image

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign mutual defence pact

17 sources

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a trilateral defence pact in Mecca on Friday. It declares an armed attack on any one of the three an attack on all.

What happened

  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the text, called the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.
  • Pakistan's foreign ministry says the aim is stronger collective deterrence; concrete support measures were not spelled out, FAZ reports.
  • Riyadh and Islamabad already agreed a bilateral defence pact in September 2025 with partly identical wording.
  • After Saudi Arabia came under fire in the Iran war, Pakistan supplied fighter jets, pilots and a Chinese HQ-9 air-defence system, per FT.
  • Saudi and US forces bombed Iraq on 29 July, hitting what they called militias behind strikes on Saudi oil sites.

The view from outside

Le Monde quotes King's College analyst Andreas Krieg calling the pact the clearest sign yet that the Middle East is drifting away from a security order organised solely by Washington. FAZ, alone among the sources, recalls repeated accusations by Western militaries and intelligence services that Riyadh financed Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme.

What could happen next

  • Whether attacks launched from Iraq would trigger the pact is unclear; the New York Times says its practical workings remain undefined.
  • FT cites an anonymous source calling the deal a prelude to further Saudi military action against the Houthis.
  • Reuters reported on Thursday that Saudi Arabia had detected drone and missile movements possibly pointing to imminent attacks.
How the camps see it

  • Saudi Arabia: Says the pact targets no country in the region and denies any link to nuclear ambitions, while seeking security partners beyond Washington.

  • Turkey: Its government disinformation unit says the deal does not contradict existing alliance commitments including NATO and complements regional security.

  • Pakistan: Presents the agreement as collective deterrence, but resists being drawn deeper into the Iran war, citing its large Shiite minority.

  • Iran: A member of parliament's national security committee dismissed it as a paper agreement that will not bring the Saudis security.

Also involved

United States

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