Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan form unprecedented defense alliance in Mecca

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a joint defence pact in Mecca around 8 August 2026. Dawn and the Indian Express described it as an 'all for one' pact, in which an attack on one is an attack on all. Le Monde called it an unprecedented defence alliance.

A Turkish minister said the pact is technically the same as NATO's Article 5, according to Reuters. Turkey said the pact is not aimed at Iran or any other country, and France 24 wrote that it comes after the fallout of the US-Iran war.