The Mecca Defense Pact Looks Toothless. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Harmless.

The emerging Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan alliance threatens to trigger regional realignment.

Observers suggest the new alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan won't result in any of the countries fighting for each other. Instead it's about preventing Iran and Israel from regional dominance, they say.

The so-called Mecca pact commits members to jointly retaliate against attacks on any of them in the style of NATO’s Article 5.

He said the Mecca Agreement is the result of several years of discussions and mutual consultations, aimed at strengthening strategic cooperation to address various security challenges, promote peace.

A mutual defense pact between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan could be expanded to include other regional states including Egypt, Turkey’s foreign minister said.