Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the attacks targeting Saudi Arabia from the south, the north and by attackers based in Iraq on September 16, 2026, as unacceptable. Fidan said the threat was not limited to Riyadh’s security but also affected regional stability and critical infrastructure.
Risks along the southern front were addressed in connection with the situation in Yemen. Referring to the long-running Yemen issue, Fidan highlighted the impact of attacks targeting Saudi Arabia from different directions on regional security balances.
Threats from the north were assessed in the context of attacks against Saudi Arabia by groups based in Iraq. This underscored that Riyadh faces not only attacks within its own borders but also broader security pressure from armed groups operating in neighboring countries.
Institutionalizing the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement
Fidan said this approach was consistent with the spirit of the structure publicly known as the Mecca Alliance and that Türkiye was also acting along these lines. The official name used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement. The agreement aims to institutionalize political and defense cooperation between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
One of the important stages of the process took place in Mecca on August 7, 2026. The agreement process was discussed with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. In his assessment on August 8, Hakan Fidan said the structure was publicly known as the Mecca Alliance and that the three countries aimed to establish a joint security framework.
The Strategic Political and Defense Committee established under the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement held its first meeting in Istanbul on August 31, 2026. The meeting, held after the agreement was signed, marked the first official step toward creating its institutional structure. The framework is not limited to military cooperation; regional security, political consultations and joint threat assessments are also among its areas of focus.
Fidan’s statement showed that cooperation between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was being linked more directly to the Yemen, Iraq and regional stability files. Threats targeting Saudi Arabia from different directions were addressed as a regional issue not only in terms of the country’s security but also the protection of energy and other critical infrastructure.
