Overview
- Leaders of the three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in Makkah on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, committing to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all.
- The agreement sets up regular committee meetings of foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs and establishes a secretariat to be based in Saudi Arabia to coordinate implementation.
- Turkish and Pakistani officials publicly framed the pact as defensive and said it is not aimed at any specific country and that other states may join if they accept its principles.
- Analysts and officials say important questions remain about whether the commitment is legally binding or mainly political, how mutual defence would be operationalised and what role Pakistan’s nuclear posture could play.
- Iranian lawmakers criticised the deal and observers say the pact could reshape regional deterrence, affect ties with the United States and NATO, and act as a stepping stone toward a broader institutional security framework for Muslim-majority states.