Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan to hold first defence pact meeting, source says

Top officials from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are set to convene in Istanbul on Monday for the inaugural committee meeting under the newly signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, according to a Turkish foreign ministry source. The agreement, inked on August 7, brings together Sunni Muslim US allies grappling with the Iran war and regional tensions that have resulted in Iranian missile strikes on Gulf oil producers.

Its objective is to bolster collective deterrence against acts of aggression, stipulating that an armed attack on any one of the three nations would be considered an attack on all, akin to NATO's Article 5 collective defense clause.

Foreign and defense ministers, as well as chiefs of staff from the three countries will participate in the gathering. International security matters are expected to take center stage, with discussions likely to encompass enhancing defense capabilities, improving interoperability among their armed forces, and deepening cooperation in the defense sector, including joint production and development.

The nations share apprehensions regarding Israel's military actions and the revolutionary Shiite Iran, as the US continues to struggle to contain regional instability, which has triggered a global energy crisis.

Six months after the US and Israel initiated the war against Iran, negotiations have hit a deadlock, and President Donald Trump's administration has intensified efforts to penalize Iran financially under the banner of an "economic D-Day." Turkey, boasting NATO's second-largest military, has hinted at the prospect of expanding the pact to include Egypt, a potential candidate, and has not aimed to supplant existing alliances.