Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said, as the three countries sought to deepen security cooperation amid heightened military tensions and conflicts in the Middle East.

The agreement says that any armed attack on any one of the three countries will be regarded as an attack against them all, the statement from the ministry said.

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Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence

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The move marks a significant step in efforts by the three regional powers to deepen security cooperation amid growing tensions and the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.

A Turkish official told Reuters that the agreement was defensive in nature, was not directed against any specific actor, was open to other regional countries, and did not abrogate or replace any existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements.

A source close to the Saudi government and military, speaking anonymously to Agence France Presse (AFP), said that “the agreement has been under discussion for a long time, but recent developments in the region accelerated the process.” Two additional regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed the planned timetable to Reuters.

The closely watched summit brought together Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Erdogan departed Ankara on Friday morning for a brief working visit, accompanied by senior Turkish officials. Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Asim Munir, arrived in Saudi Arabia a day earlier, landing on Thursday and received at Jeddah airport by the deputy governor of the Mecca region.

Defense agreement goes ‘beyond short-term considerations’

A spokesperson for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry stressed that, despite tensions in the Gulf, the visit has “significance that goes beyond the immediate crisis and short-term considerations.”

According to a report from Turkiye Today, the agreement was a natural development in the increasingly close ties among the three countries, which are now drawing international attention.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense pact last year, a move that attracted considerable attention because of Pakistan’s status as the only Muslim country possessing nuclear weapons. Turkey, meanwhile, has recently played an active diplomatic role in efforts to end the war in Gaza and, in late July, became one of 14 founding members of a Riyadh-led maritime defense coalition.

The closer ties among the three countries come at an especially turbulent time in the Middle East. The war between Washington and Tehran has drawn Gulf states into the conflict and caused severe disruptions to maritime trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

The trilateral defense alliance, combining Saudi Arabia’s economic power, Turkey’s military strength, and Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, could reshape the regional balance of deterrence and serve as a significant counterweight to Iran on the international stage.

This post was originally published on here.