Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a joint defense pact in Mecca, under which an armed attack on one country is treated as an attack on all three. A Danish researcher says the deal could mark the start of a security order with a smaller American role.
DR reported on August 10 that the three countries have entered a new defense agreement, named the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the signing in Mecca.
According to the text of the agreement, an armed attack on one of the countries will be regarded as an attack on all of them. In a joint statement, the three governments said the pact is meant to strengthen collective deterrence against any form of aggression.
Rasmus Brun Pedersen, who holds a PhD in international politics and is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, assessed the deal for DR. Per his analysis, it marks the beginning of a new architecture in which regional players take over, and the United States plays a reduced role.
Pedersen said the combination of these three states makes sense. As he noted, they have overlapping interests regarding Iran and a shared wish to stabilize the region. They also bring different capabilities: Turkey a strong army, Saudi Arabia a strong economy, and Pakistan nuclear weapons.
According to Pedersen, the agreement can be read in two directions. U.S. President Donald Trump has long wanted countries in the region to take greater responsibility for their own security, so the pact can be seen as a step in that direction. It can also be read as a sign that Washington can no longer play its former role in the Middle East.
Pedersen described the development as a double-edged sword for the Americans. He added that Iran in particular is using the rhetoric that the pact shows a weakened United States, with other powers stepping into the role.
Reuters reports Iranian reaction
Reuters reported on August 7, 2026 that the three countries signed the deal in Saudi Arabia amid regional turmoil. In a later report on August 10, Reuters said Tehran saw no reason to fear the agreement.
An Iranian spokesman said the pact could help strengthen security in the region. That would require it to take account of the area’s political and historical conditions, and to regard Israel and its allies, including the United States, as a threat.
How much the pact will matter remains unclear. Pedersen pointed out that there is **no treaty basis yet** setting out how the cooperation will work in practice. For now, he said, it is more symbolic than substantive.
One open question is whether more countries will join over time. Pedersen pointed to the Gulf states and Egypt as possible future participants.
