Pact with Saudi and Pakistan could expand to Muslim world, Iran, Turkish speaker says - Reuters

Pact with Saudi and Pakistan could expand to Muslim world, Iran, Turkish speaker says | Reuters

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Pact with Saudi and Pakistan could expand to Muslim world, Iran, Turkish speaker says

By Reuters

September 25, 20265:59 AM EDTUpdated 5 hours ago

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!Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign joint defence deal in Mecca

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a joint defence agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, August 7, 2026. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

ANKARA, Sept 25 (Reuters) - A defence pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan could turn into a broader ​pact "for the Muslim world" that includes Iran, Turkey's parliament speaker said on ‌Friday, adding that it is expected to be submitted for ratification from next month.

The regional powers signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement" in August, weeks before Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis launched attacks against Saudi ​Arabia, in reaction to the wider Iran war. Similar to NATO's Article 5, the ​pact stipulates that an attack on one ally constitutes an attack ⁠on all. The signatories have been meeting to lay out the parameters of the ​accord and assess Riyadh's needs.

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"For international agreements to come into effect, parliamentary approval is ​needed. The meetings held as part of the agreement at the moment are preparatory meetings," Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus told reporters in Ankara. "I expect this issue to come on the parliament's agenda in ​the coming period," he added, referring to parliament's return from recess in October.

Asked ​whether the pact was against Iran, Kurtulmus repeated Turkey's position that the agreement did not target any ‌specific ⁠country but was primarily aimed at ensuring the security of states in the region amid conflicts and Israel's "hostile policies", adding that Tehran could potentially join the pact too.

"We never see the Mecca Agreement as a pact against Iran, it must not be ​that way. In fact, ​we hope the ⁠Mecca Agreement can turn into a broader agreement for the Muslim world. Iran can join this agreement too, we hope it will ​become much stronger with the participation of other regional countries," ​he said.

Ankara ⁠has previously said it could help meet Riyadh's military needs, especially on technical issues, but officials have said any support at this stage would be largely bilateral and in the spirit ⁠of ​their alliance, since the joint agreement has yet to ​be ratified.

The military chiefs of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are set to meet to discuss ways of ​supporting Riyadh.

Recasts adding further comments from Kurtulmus, details and background in paragraphs 3-7

Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu: Editing by Daren Butler, Aidan Lewis

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