Iran has been formally invited to join the ‘Makkah Mutual Defense Pact’, a new security alliance recently formed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan.
This information was reported on Saturday by the Lebanese-based media outlet Al Mayadeen, citing a senior Iranian official.
However, no official confirmation has yet been received from the Iranian government or the foreign ministries of the three coalition countries (Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan) regarding this invitation.
Tehran is reviewing
Mehdi Rahimi, head of Iran’s parliamentary news agency ‘Khane Millat’, told Al-Mayadeen, “Iran has received an invitation to join the Mecca Agreement and the matter is currently being reviewed.”
He also said that the countries of the Middle East and neighboring regions are now moving towards coming under a regional security system.
Describing this as a strategic victory for Iran, he claimed that Tehran had long been calling for such an integrated regional security framework.
What is the Mecca Pact?
On August 7, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif jointly signed the historic ‘Makkah Agreement’. The alliance was formed with the aim of strengthening regional security and increasing mutual cooperation in the defense sector.
Analysts believe that if the news of the invitation proves true and Tehran joins this alliance, it could bring about a major change in the long-standing political and geopolitical equation in the Middle East.
