Turkey Says Mecca Pact Is Not Aimed at Iran
Turkey sought to calm regional nerves on Sunday, insisting the mutual-defence pact it signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was not directed at Iran. Ankara said the agreement, which treats an attack on one signatory as an attack on all, was purely defensive and open to other states. The clarification followed alarm over the pact’s reach and a Pakistani minister’s inflammatory remarks about Israel.
The reassurance reflected the delicate balance the three Sunni powers are trying to strike: forging a common security bloc without triggering an arms race or a sharper split with Tehran. Turkey maintains ties with Iran even as it deepens its alignment with the Gulf, and has an interest in dampening any sense that the pact is a hostile alliance. Iran, which has watched the agreement warily, has yet to respond formally. How Tehran and Israel ultimately read the pact will determine whether it stabilises the region or hardens its divisions. Watch for Iran’s official response and whether other states move to join.