Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan’s Mecca Joint Defence Agreement creates a NATO-style collective-defence framework with nearly 1.4 million active personnel, about 3,400 aircraft, 6,000 tanks, more than 340 naval assets and combined defence spending of roughly $124.4 billion, according to Global Firepower estimates. Yet its command arrangements and concrete military obligations remain undefined. Iran has downplayed the pact as a response to weakening faith in U.S. security guarantees, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran’s armed forces have already demonstrated their deterrent strength; Türkiye’s Hakan Fidan expects Egypt could join once remaining technical issues are resolved.
E-Paper
