The New NATO: Turkey Reveals What's Behind the New Alliance with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan clarified that the defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is technically similar to NATO's Article 5, according to which an attack on one will be considered an attack on all. He stressed that the alliance is not directed against Iran. The agreement was signed in Mecca a day earlier, expanding the mutual defense framework signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025, adding significant military and geopolitical weight.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the defense agreement signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan is technically similar to Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which stipulates that an attack on one country will be considered an attack on all. According to him, the agreement is not directed against Iran or any specific country, and he quoted: "Iran is not the target, and no one is a target as long as he does not attack the member states." His remarks come a day after Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan signed the joint defense agreement in Mecca. The central principle of the agreement is a mechanism of collective deterrence and deepening military cooperation. The agreement expands the mutual defense framework signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025, and now Turkey's accession, a NATO member with one of the largest armies in the alliance, gives it more significant military and geopolitical weight. The comparison to Article 5 is intended to present the agreement as a security framework of collective defense, while trying to clarify to Tehran that this is not a declaration of an anti-Iranian alliance.