Nadene Goldfoot
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed mutual defense pact called the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement. The pact is modeled on NATO’s Article 5 principle that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement belongs to three nations: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan. It was signed on August 7, 2026, in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
1. Saudi Arabia is the holdout on the Abraham Accords of which the UAE (United Arab Emirates) belongs to as well as Israel, USA, Bahrain, Morocco, Jordan, and almost Sudan where Normalization is widely opposed in Sudan, and fighting between rival military factions has delayed the signing. Kazakhstan is a possible member since in early 2026, Kazakhstan formalized its entry into the Abraham Accords, marking the first expansion of the framework into Central Asia. The formalization established a structured strategic partnership with Israel focusing on cybersecurity and water management, while maintaining support for a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict which has been dropped since October 7, 2023. That's not going to happen in our life-time; they have squashed any chance of that. Egypt could also join the pact. Hedging and Diplomacy: Rather than joining the Israeli-aligned security architecture, Saudi Arabia has pursued alternative regional balancing, such as joint defense frameworks with regional powers like Turkey and Pakistan.
The chance of Egypt formally joining the Abraham Accords is very low. Egypt already signed a historic peace treaty with Israel in 1979. Cairo views the newer Abraham Accords as redundant for its bilateral relationship with Israel, and prediction markets like Polymarket price the probability of Egypt signing before 2027 at under 10%.
Saudi Arabia refuses to join the Abraham Accords without a credible, irreversible roadmap toward Palestinian statehood. This stance has hardened significantly following the war in Gaza, making formal normalization with Israel a major political hurdle for Riyadh.Iranian officials argued that the agreement would not protect Saudi Arabia.
2. Turkey's relationship with Israel today is bad. Turkey's relationship with Israel is at a historic low point, defined by severed trade, severe diplomatic hostility, and deep strategic rivalry across the Middle East,
- Turkey completely cut off all bilateral trade and economic ties with Israel. Ankara closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft. Turkish leadership routinely accuses Israel of genocide and sabotaging peace efforts in Gaza. Israeli officials increasingly label Turkey a primary regional threat and rival.
- Syria: Turkey seeks to expand its influence following regime changes, while Israel fights to maintain operational freedom for its air force. Turkey, in my opinion, has dreams of grandeur of the old Ottoman Empire which they were for over 400 years.
- New Alliances: Turkey joined Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in signing the Mecca Joint Defense Pact, a move viewed in Israel as a challenge to its regional posture.
- Eastern Mediterranean: Ankara opposes Israeli-led energy and security alignments with Greece and Cyprus.
- 3. Pakistan: Pakistan and Israel have no official diplomatic or formal relations. Pakistan does not recognize Israel as a sovereign state, and its official stance prohibits Pakistani citizens from traveling to Israel. Relations remain deeply hostile, characterized by sharp political rhetoric and mutual strategic opposition,
Resource:
israel AM
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