ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign minister spoke separately with his Saudi and Iranian counterparts on Monday, pledging close coordination with Riyadh and briefing Tehran on a landmark trilateral defense pact signed with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye last week.
The Makkah Joint Defense Agreement, under which an armed attack against any one of the three states would be considered an attack against all, significantly expands a Pakistan-Saudi defense arrangement signed last year by adding Türkiye, a NATO member with one of the alliance’s largest militaries and a major defense industry.
It was concluded as Gulf states reassess regional security after Iranian missiles and drones struck countries hosting US forces during the five-month US-Iran war, while the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked since fighting began in February.
“They discussed matters of mutual interest, including multilateral cooperation and regional developments, and underscored the importance of continued close coordination and cooperation, both bilaterally and at multilateral forums,” the foreign office in Islamabad said after Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke by telephone with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Dar separately spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday, exchanging views on regional and international developments and briefing him on the new defense agreement.
“DPM/FM also shared the contours of the recently signed Makkah Joint Defense Agreement between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, underscoring its objectives of strengthening strategic cooperation and contributing to regional peace and security,” the foreign office said.
The foreign office said the two ministers focused particularly on the evolving regional situation and efforts to promote peace and stability and agreed to remain in close contact on matters of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the Makkah agreement in the Saudi city on Friday. The pact does not identify an adversary and Pakistani officials have said it is purely defensive, is not directed against any country and remains open to other states willing to uphold its principles.
Dar said after its signing that the accord did not abrogate or replace existing bilateral or multilateral arrangements involving the three countries, an important distinction given Türkiye’s membership of NATO and the extensive security relationships all three states maintain with Washington.
The new agreement builds on the Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in September 2025, which similarly stipulated that aggression against either country would be considered aggression against both. Islamabad and Riyadh said at the time that the accord was intended to strengthen joint deterrence and formalize decades of close military cooperation.
GULF TENSIONS
The trilateral arrangement had been under discussion well before its signing. Pakistan’s defense production minister said in January that a draft agreement with Saudi Arabia and Türkiye had been prepared after nearly a year of negotiations and was being considered by all three governments.
Its conclusion, however, comes in a dramatically altered regional security environment following the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 and Tehran’s subsequent missile and drone attacks against US positions and infrastructure across Gulf Arab states.
The conflict has also effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed before the war, driving up energy prices and raising concerns about global inflation and supply disruptions.
Diplomatic efforts are now focused on reopening the waterway. Iran said on Monday it was nearing an agreement with Oman on new shipping routes through the strait, with Tehran saying the two sides had agreed on a route map while technical issues remained unresolved.
But Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi has said Tehran will not reopen the strait unless Washington meets a series of demands, including compensation for damage caused by US strikes. Other Iranian demands include an end to US military threats and sanctions, the lifting of a naval blockade and the release of frozen Iranian assets.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said Washington is “semi-negotiating” with Tehran, although Iran says the two sides are not holding direct talks and are communicating through intermediaries.
The security crisis has also prompted Pakistan to deepen engagement with other Gulf states including Kuwait, which last month ratified a wide-ranging military cooperation agreement with Islamabad signed in June 2023. The five-year agreement covers areas including military training, intelligence sharing, logistics, defense technology and joint exercises.
