Claims emerge that Iran was invited to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement
Al Mayadeen has claimed that Tehran received an invitation to join the defense pact signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
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It has been claimed that Iran has been invited to the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, which was signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan.
According to a report by the Lebanon-based Al Mayadeen, citing a high-level Iranian official, the Tehran administration received an invitation to join the security alliance established earlier this month.
Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Khaneh Mellat news agency affiliated with the Iranian Parliament, stated to Al Mayadeen, "Iran has received an invitation to join the Mecca Agreement, and it is currently being evaluated."
Rahimi noted that regional countries are seeking a common security umbrella and described the development as a "victory" for Iran.
The claim regarding the invitation has not yet been officially confirmed by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or by the parties to the agreement: Ankara, Riyadh, and Islamabad.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on August 7, 2026.
The agreement is based on the principle of mutual defense, where an attack on one member country is considered an attack on all parties. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had compared the mechanism to NATO's Article 5, but emphasized that the pact was not established against any specific country.
Ankara had previously signaled that the pact could expand with new members, and it had been stated that Egypt was among the potential candidates.