Turkey has confirmed that the Mecca defense pact was not aimed at Iran. Tehran had expressed dissatisfaction regarding the agreement signed between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey. In response, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan offered assurances to Iran.
On Saturday, Fidan stated that neither Iran nor any other country has been identified as a joint threat under this agreement.
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca joint defense pact. The agreement stipulates that an armed attack on any one of the three nations will be considered an attack on all of them.
Fidan told Turkey’s state news agency, Anadolu, “We have not mentioned any joint threat in writing.” He further added that countries which do not attack the signatories will not be treated as targets.
Fidan described the pact as “technically” similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause, under which an attack on one member state is regarded as an attack on all.
However, despite Ankara’s assurances, some Iranian officials have raised questions about the agreement. They have also warned Saudi Arabia against relying on new partners for security.
Mahmoud Nabavian, a member of Iran’s parliamentary National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, stated that Saudi leaders should realize that cooperation with Turkey and Pakistan would not guarantee their security.
Another member of the commission, Ebrahim Rezaei, dismissed the agreement as merely a “paper pact.”
