Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual Defense Pact

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan formally signed a joint defense agreement Friday in Mecca, pledging that each nation would regard an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all three — a major realignment of security relations across the Muslim world at a moment when the United States and Iran remain deadlocked over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan's foreign ministry confirmed the signing, characterizing the pact as an expression of the three countries' shared dedication to collective security and to fostering stability across the region and further afield. The deal was concluded during a face-to-face trilateral summit bringing together Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The agreement caps nearly a year of diplomatic negotiations and extends a bilateral Saudi-Pakistani mutual defense framework that was established in September 2025. The addition of Turkey — a NATO member equipped with advanced drone technology and robust defense manufacturing — considerably broadens the combined deterrent power the three nations can project.

Analysts observed that Pakistan brings nuclear capability and a combat-hardened military to the alliance, while Turkey offers sophisticated unmanned aerial systems and a mature defense industrial base. Saudi Arabia contributes substantial economic leverage along with the symbolic resonance of hosting the signing in Mecca.

The accord emerges against a backdrop of repeated drone and missile strikes on Saudi territory that Riyadh has attributed to Iran and to Tehran-aligned proxy forces in Yemen and Iraq. Those assaults have endangered the kingdom's oil exports and raised questions about the durability of America's longstanding security guarantees to Gulf states. Saudi Arabia also participated in U.S.-led strikes targeting Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in late July.

Sharif has played a central mediating role in continuing American and Iranian negotiations over the Hormuz standoff. His appearance in Mecca alongside Erdogan and the Saudi crown prince highlighted how the three governments have worked to cast themselves as a stabilizing influence while maintaining diplomatic lines to both Washington and Tehran.

President Donald Trump said Thursday that talks with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz were going "very well" and that a deal "could be soon," though he cautioned that Iran retained the ability to deploy naval mines and drones that continue to deter commercial shipping. Iran, for its part, said its parliamentary committee was reviewing a preliminary bill that would bar vessels connected to the United States, Israel and other nations it considers hostile from transiting the strait until Iran receives war-damage compensation.

U.S. stockpiles of critical air defense munitions — among them Patriot interceptors and THAAD missiles — have been substantially depleted during the conflict with Iran, defense analysts and a U.S. official said. A retired Marine Corps colonel who authored a Center for Strategic and International Studies report said those munitions shortfalls were likely a factor in the administration's decision to pause its air campaign and would remain relevant to any future use of force.

The three-nation defense pact adds a new layer of pressure to the wider regional equation. European allies, including the United Kingdom and France, have resisted joining a U.S.-backed naval coalition to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, expressing reluctance to be drawn into a conflict they played no part in starting.