President Trump lauds Mecca Accords between Islamic powers, linking Saudi Arabia with Pakistan and Turkey.By World Israel News StaffPresident Donald Trump on Sunday welcomed a new mutual-defense pact linking Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, portraying the agreement as evidence that Middle Eastern countries are beginning to assume greater responsibility for their own security.“Very happy to see that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan have recently, and finally, signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.“It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way,” he continued, calling the pact a “BIG, BOLD, IMPORTANT FIRST STEP.”The agreement was signed on August 7 at Al-Safa Palace in Mecca by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.Under its central provision, an armed attack against any of the three countries will be treated as an attack against them all.“The Agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression, and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” the three governments said in a joint statement.The pact brings together three countries with markedly different strategic strengths.Pakistan is the Muslim world’s only declared nuclear-armed state, Turkey possesses NATO’s second-largest military and an expanding domestic defense industry, and Saudi Arabia provides substantial financial resources and regional influence.It also expands upon the bilateral Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in September 2025.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has compared the pact’s collective-defense clause to NATO’s Article 5, although he said the three governments would consult before determining the form and extent of assistance provided to a member facing an attack.“NATO is a giant military alliance where there are 32 countries. We have started here as three countries and we have to take very humble but concrete steps,” Fidan said.Turkey’s Defense Ministry said the countries plan to establish high-level coordinating bodies bringing together their defense and foreign ministers and senior military commanders.A ministerial committee and a permanent secretariat based in Saudi Arabia are also expected to be created.The three militaries are planning joint land, naval and air exercises, along with cooperation on air defense, drones, autonomous weapons, electronic warfare and artificial intelligence.The agreement additionally calls for joint weapons development, technology transfers and coordinated maintenance and logistical support.Turkish officials have stressed that the alliance is defensive, does not target Iran or another particular country and is not intended to replace Turkey’s NATO membership or the participants’ existing security relationships.Erdogan has said he wants the alliance eventually to include additional regional countries.Egypt has been identified as a possible future member, although Cairo has not announced that it intends to join.The pact was finalized amid the regional upheaval caused by the war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.Iranian missile and drone attacks have since reached Gulf countries, while Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen have renewed attacks on Saudi oil installations and shipping routes.Saudi Arabia, which has sought to avoid becoming fully drawn into the war, has simultaneously moved to strengthen regional deterrence. Riyadh is also organizing a multinational maritime coalition intended to protect shipping in the Red Sea.Iran has publicly played down concerns about the trilateral alliance, presenting it instead as evidence that regional governments are reducing their dependence on outside powers.Tehran said it had no reason to oppose the arrangement “so long as it correctly identifies the enemy and the threat.”Despite its NATO-style language, the agreement’s effectiveness will depend on how its members respond to an actual crisis.The pact does not publicly establish an automatic military response, and its three members face different primary security challenges.Trump nevertheless presented the agreement as a positive development for Washington, framing the emergence of a new regional defense structure as greater burden-sharing by US partners rather than a challenge to American influence.The post Trump hails Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact as ‘big, bold’ step appeared first on World Israel News.