Iran lashes out at Saudi-led defense pact with Pakistan and Türkiye

The three countries have agreed to treat an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all Iran has lashed out at a new mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye, as Riyadh seeks to strengthen its security partnerships amid escalating conflict across the Middle East.The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Friday, pledging that an armed attack against any one of them would be regarded as an attack on all three. The pact is described as an effort to strengthen “collective deterrence” and expand military coordination and defense-industry cooperation.Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, has dismissed the pact and accused Riyadh of relying on foreign powers for protection.”The Saudis should know that a paper agreement with Türkiye and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as years of one-sided ‘milking’ by the Americans did not bring them security,” he wrote on X.”Change your policies so that you do not have to beg for security from others,” he added.The signing comes as Saudi Arabia says it faces growing security threats stemming from the US-Israeli war on Iran, during which Tehran and ...