Iran may join Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defence alliance as reported invitation remains unconfirmed
Iran’s Invitation Remains Unconfirmed
Iran’s foreign ministry has yet to officially confirm an invitation that has been reported in relation to discussions involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. As of now, none of these countries have provided confirmation regarding the invitation either.
The Mecca Agreement was signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has compared the arrangement with Nato’s Article 5, while stressing that the alliance was not directed against Iran or any other specific country.
Mehdi Rahimi, head of Iran’s parliament’s Khaneh Mellat news agency, told Al Mayadeen that Iran had received an invitation and that the proposal was under review. Rahimi said regional countries were moving towards establishing a “regional security umbrella”, adding that such a development would be favourable to Iran as Tehran had long advocated regional security mechanisms. Under the pact, an armed attack against any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack against all three.