Turkey begins ratifying Mecca defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan

Turkey has submitted to its parliament the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, which treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. The treaty creates a joint political and defence committee, a permanent secretariat in Saudi Arabia and a secretary-general, and could admit other Muslim states, including Iran. It shows a formal military bloc taking shape among regional powers, including a nuclear-armed state, amid Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the aftermath of the Iran conflict, though Ankara says it is not aimed at Israel or Iran.