Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan Sign Makkah Joint Defence Agreement

On August 7, 2026, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah. The pact creates a collective security framework where any armed attack against one signatory is regarded as an attack against all three, mirroring NATO's Article 5. The alliance combines Saudi financial resources, Turkey's defense technology and NATO-standard military, and Pakistan's nuclear deterrent and manpower to strengthen regional deterrence.

The agreement follows a period of extreme regional volatility, including a U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that began in February 2026 and subsequent Iranian retaliatory strikes. Saudi Arabia placed security forces on high alert leading up to the summit following intelligence of coordinated attacks by Houthi rebels and Iran-backed Iraqi militias. These threats included drone and missile strikes in the Najran Province and targets in Yemen's Marib and Hadramout provinces.

Signatories describe the pact as purely defensive and not a sectarian bloc. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that the agreement is open to other brotherly nations, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan identifying Egypt as a likely future member. Iran dismissed the agreement as a "paper agreement," with MP Ebrahim Rezaei stating it would not provide genuine security for Riyadh. Meanwhile, the alliance coincides with separate framework negotiations between Iran and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has seen severely declined shipping traffic.