Trump welcomes defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan
- By AFP -
- Aug 17, 2026
US President Donald Trump said Sunday he was pleased by the recent signing of a defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the agreement against the backdrop of war between the United States and Iran, which has drawn in surrounding nations and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.
“Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he wrote, calling it a “BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT FIRST STEP.”
The three-way agreement, signed August 7, comes amid a US-Iran war that has extended violence to the region, including Iran-backed Houthi rebel attacks.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the pact meant an attack on any member would be regarded as an attack on all, adding it was “intended to strengthen collective deterrence.”
The agreement declared a “shared commitment to further strengthening their collective security and to promoting peace, security and stability in the region and beyond.”
Read more: Turkey says expects Egypt to join defence pact
The three countries will also share a commitment to participating in efforts to resolve the conflict between Iran and the United States.
Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday he expected Egypt to join a joint defence agreement with regional partners designed to stabilise the region that is grappling with the Middle East war.
The war has emboldened Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen, both of which have attacked Saudi Arabia, and a drone last month hit US assets at an Egyptian port on the Mediterranean.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told state news agency Anadolu he expected Egypt to join the “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement”, calling the country a “natural partner on all issues”.
“I believe that at the next stage Egypt will also be among us in the alliance. We already act toward one another as if we were alliance members,” he said in an interview.