'Security can't be bought with Pakistan, Turkey deal': Iran tells Saudi Arabia

A member of Iran's Parliament and the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission has criticised the newly signed defence pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, arguing that the agreement will not ensure Riyadh's security. Ebrahim Rezaei reacted to the defence agreement on X, writing, "Saudis must know that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as years of one-sided nursing to the Americans did not bring them security."

He further claimed that if Saudi Arabia changed its policies, it would not need to ‘beg’ other countries for security. Earlier in the day, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed a new defence pact, known as the ‘Mecca Joint Defence Agreement’, aimed at strengthening security cooperation amid heightened regional tensions following the conflict between the United States and Iran.

The ongoing crisis has also affected Gulf states and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Under the agreement, an attack on any one of the three member countries will be treated as an attack on all three. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all. It further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three States".

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Saudi Arabia and Pakistan had already announced a mutual defence pact in 2025, a move that attracted significant attention as Pakistan remains the only nuclear-armed nation in the Muslim world. The latest agreement also comes amid renewed instability in the region after a truce between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels collapsed. Since the ceasefire ended, the Houthis have launched attacks on Saudi territory and declared a maritime blockade against the kingdom, attempting to enforce it by targeting Saudi oil tankers.