On 7 August 2026 Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a collective defense agreement in Jeddah, called the "Mecca Pact". The treaty was signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The agreement establishes that an armed attack against one of the three states will be considered an attack against all, a formulation that several outlets compared to Article 5 of the NATO treaty.

The pact had been under development for some time: Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already signed a bilateral defense agreement in September 2025. According to Saudi sources cited by ANSA, recent regional developments accelerated the signing. These developments include attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and Houthi threats in the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a context in which Riyadh reported at least eleven civilians wounded in a Houthi attack.

The three leaders stated that the alliance is not directed against any country in the region and has no sectarian character. Saudi Arabia ruled out nuclear ambitions, while Erdoğan suggested the pact could eventually extend to other states. The treaty aims, according to the parties, to strengthen collective deterrence against any form of aggression.

Iran reacted with skepticism. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, stated that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not guarantee Saudi Arabia's security, urging Riyadh to change its policy. Tehran did not however announce specific countermeasures.

The pact comes amid a particularly tense regional situation. The United States is engaged in negotiations with Oman to reopen shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, blocked by Iran to American and Israeli vessels. The US president announced an imminent reopening of the strait, while General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, is involved in negotiations to find an exit from the conflict with Iran. The fronts in Lebanon, where no agreement was reached for an Israeli withdrawal from the south of the country, and in Yemen, where clashes with pro-Saudi militias are ongoing, also remain open.