Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan invited Iran to join newly-established Mecca defense pact - report

The invitation has not yet been officially confirmed by Iran's Foreign Ministry or by any of the three countries that are parties to the agreement.

Iran has been invited to join the Mecca Agreement for Mutual Defense, the new security alliance established by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan earlier this month, Al Mayadeen reported on Saturday, citing a senior Iranian official.

The invitation has not yet been officially confirmed by Iran's Foreign Ministry or by any of the three countries that are parties to the agreement.

Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Iranian parliament's Khaneh Mellat news agency, told the channel that "Iran has received an invitation to join the Mecca Agreement, and the matter is under review."

Rahimi added that countries in the region "are moving toward seeking a regional security umbrella," and claimed that this represented "a victory for Iran, because it has been calling for this for a long time."

The Mecca Agreement was signed on August 7 by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

The agreement establishes a principle of mutual defense under which an attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all of them. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan compared the mechanism to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, but stressed that the agreement was not directed against Iran or any specific country.

The member states have already begun developing mechanisms for diplomatic and military coordination, including meetings among foreign and defense ministers and military commanders, joint exercises, and cooperation between their defense industries.

Alliance could expand to include more countries

Turkey has said the alliance could expand to include additional countries. Egypt has been publicly mentioned as a possible candidate for membership.

Iran has so far responded to the agreement with cautious approval. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on August 10 that Tehran had "no reason for concern" over the establishment of the alliance.

According to Baghaei, the move reflects growing recognition among countries in the region of the need to build regional security mechanisms.

If the claim that Iran was invited is officially confirmed, Iranian membership would significantly alter the character of the alliance, which was established by three countries with close security ties to the West, and would turn it into a substantially broader regional framework.