Mecca defence pact: A new 'Sunni NATO' in the Middle East?

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan's new defence pact creates an Article 5-style guarantee, raising major questions for Israel and Iran.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a new defence pact in Mecca. This agreement commits them to mutual defence against any armed attack. The deal combines Saudi financial power, Turkish defence industry, and Pakistan's military strength. It comes amid regional tensions involving Iran, Israel, and the United State

The agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan pledge mutual defence as Middle East turmoil escalates  Reuters

Three allies seek to deepen regional security co-operation to deal with wars and instability

The three nations share concerns over growing instability in West Asia, Iran's influence and Israel's increasingly assertive role.

By Timour Azhari, Ariba Shahid and Tuvan Gumrukcu RIYADH/KARACHI/ANKARA, Aug 7 - Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed a joint defence agreement in Mecca on Friday, wedding Sunni Muslim U.S. allies alarmed at a regional conflagration that has rained missile fire onto Gulf oil exporters. Iran and its allies have been

It is no longer possible to view the wars raging across the world as separate crises linked only by temporal coincidence. The international landscape reveals clear interconnections among most conflict flashpoints, as if they were pieces of a single tableau reflecting the profound transformation underway in the internat

The FTSE 100 index closed up 21.68 points, or 0.2%, at 10,879.38.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 21.68 points, or 0.2%, at 10,879.38.

U.S. Stocks Rally, While Oil Slides on Middle East Diplomacy Hopes  wsj.com

Oil prices were lower on Monday morning after OPEC+ boosted production for September and US President Donald Trump called off a planned strike on Iran, putting downward pressure on prices.

ACTIVISTS yesterday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s claims of an outline deal with Iran today — but warned there can be no lasting peace in the Middle East while the US military maintains such a huge presence there. Mr Trump said today that he was holding off on a widely expected attack on Iran. Posting to social

OPEC+ members, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, agree to boost oil production by 188,000 barrels per day from September. Learn how this impacts global su

The war in Iran appears to be expanding after drone strikes at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta sparked fires on two natural gas vessels Wednesday. CBS News' chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes has more.

Recent days have seen a series of attacks across the Middle East, from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia bombing militias in Iraq to drones setting ships ablaze in Egypt

Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East this year, 16 Indian nationals, including 10 seafarers, have lost their lives in the region, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.

A drone hit a gas storage tanker at Egypt's Mediterranean port of Damietta, according to British maritime security firm Ambrey on Wednesday, in an initial assessment that could signal a further spread of conflict across the Middle East.

Here’s why new fronts seem to be opening up across the Middle East  AP News

President Donald Trump began the war with Iran to end the Islamic Republic, which rules that country. Rightly, however, Trump is no longer pursuing that grand objective. Instead, the president is using force to pressure Iran to return to the negotiating table in good faith. This reduced ambition is sensible. But it doe

Bond yields are also higher on concerns about inflation.

The Netherlands is lagging behind its European partners in filling its gas reserves for the winter, just as a key...

Oil prices gave up some of their gains on Thursday as oil tankers continued to make their way out of the Middle East even as tensions there escalated, with ​the U.S.-Iran war spreading beyond its main fronts.

US President Donald Trump confirmed on Fox News that the US and Saudi Arabia coordinated attacks on Iran-backed Iraqi militias with the Iraqi government itself. But Iraq has called the strikes a 'blatant violation', and its prime minister has called off a meeting with the Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salmane due to the at

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook instructed officials Wednesday to make sure to crack down on market-disturbing acts, such as hoarding, amid persistent concerns about supply strains due to the on-again, off-again conflict in the Middle East. Han made the remark at the start of an emergency economic meeting with related mi

Gulf Coast refineries are welcoming the surge from Venezuela during the prolonged Strait of Hormuz closure that’s virtually halted imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted in his fifth State of the Nation Address the P58 billion fund that was trickled down to local governments in response to the effects of the Middle East conflict in the Philippines. On February 28, 2026, the United States of America and Israel struck Iran,

Will the other banks follow?