SAUDI ARABIA, Mecca – Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have signed a mutual defense agreement committing the three countries to regard an armed attack against any one of them as an attack against all three, expanding their security cooperation as tensions continue to rise across the Middle East.
The agreement was signed Friday in Saudi Arabia during a meeting attended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.
The ministry said the agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence and cooperation against external aggression. The pact brings together Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, a nuclear-armed state, and Turkey, a NATO member with the alliance’s second-largest military and a growing domestic defense industry.
Three countries deepen security cooperation
The agreement represents a significant expansion of defense ties among the three countries as Saudi Arabia seeks to strengthen its security partnerships amid renewed regional instability.
Saudi Arabia has faced continuing security concerns connected to attacks on its territory and infrastructure, particularly from Yemen-based Houthi forces. Turkey and Pakistan have also maintained longstanding defense relationships with Riyadh, including military cooperation and arms-related ties.
The new agreement comes as attacks involving the Iran-backed Houthis have increased pressure on Saudi Arabia and its regional partners.
Houthi attacks reported in Yemen
Houthi forces launched attacks Friday morning in Yemen’s Marib province, according to a military official with Saudi-backed forces.
The official said missiles were fired from an area west of Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.
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Yemen’s internationally recognized government’s Health Minister Qassem Bahaibah said the attacks struck a refugee camp and residential areas, killing at least two people and injuring 14 others.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted a Saudi-backed military camp in Marib with drones and missiles. He claimed the operation destroyed storage facilities and military equipment and said the Houthis would continue attacking Saudi-supported troop concentrations and groups involved in the blockade of Yemen.
The competing claims could not be independently verified.
Saudi border region also comes under attack
Saudi Arabia’s Najran region, near the Yemeni border, was also targeted Thursday, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
Al-Malki said the attack injured 11 civilians, including a woman and a child who suffered second-degree burns. He accused the Houthis of carrying out indiscriminate attacks against civilian areas.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the Najran attack.
The incidents mark a renewed escalation after a 2022 truce substantially reduced fighting between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition.
Strait of Hormuz adds another regional security challenge
The defense agreement was announced as separate diplomatic efforts continued over the Strait of Hormuz, another major security flashpoint involving Saudi Arabia and its regional partners.
U.S. officials said Friday that Washington could end its blockade of Iranian ports if an acceptable agreement is reached to restore shipping through the strategic waterway and its terms are respected.
A U.S. official, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly, said regional mediators had indicated that an agreement between Iran and Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz could be finalized in the coming days.
The United States would review the outcome before determining its position, the official said.
Washington has said it would not accept an arrangement allowing Iran to impose tolls or service fees on ships or otherwise restrict commercial navigation.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a critical route for international energy shipments, making any agreement over its operation important to regional security and global energy markets.
Israeli strike wounds Lebanese soldier
Elsewhere, Lebanon’s army said an Israeli strike Friday lightly wounded a soldier who was operating a bulldozer to clear roads in the southern Lebanese village of Mansouri.
Lebanon’s state news agency said the area had also come under Israeli shelling earlier in the week. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported incident.
Israel carried out strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, saying they were responses to what it described as violations of a ceasefire by Hezbollah. The Israeli military also ordered residents of Mansouri to leave, marking the first such warning in Lebanon in several weeks.
The developments highlight the interconnected security pressures facing governments across the region, from Saudi Arabia and Yemen to Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz.
The new Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defense agreement adds another layer to an evolving regional security landscape, while the outcome of the Iran-Oman talks and continuing violence involving the Houthis and Hezbollah could influence how those security relationships develop.
This report is based on reporting by The Associated Press.
