The New 'Tripartite Alliance' Raises Questions in the Middle East
Aug. 27 2026, Updated 1:50 p.m. ET
The tripartite alliance between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia has raised numerous questions across the Middle East in general, and in the Gulf Cooperation Council states in particular, amid the security threats and challenges currently facing the region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed a joint defense agreement in Mecca on August 7, stipulating that an attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all of them.
Despite the joint defense agreement, prominent Iranian figures rejected the notion that it would provide protection for Saudi Arabia, which has been subjected to Iranian strikes since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli-Iranian war on February 28. According to London-based opposition TV channel Iran International, Iran Ibrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Committee, commented on X that “the agreement will not benefit Saudi Arabia.”
In a swift reaction to the tripartite agreement, Rezaei said: “The Saudis should know that an agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security at all, just as years of one-sided exploitation by the Americans did not provide them with security either.”
Details of the Tripartite Agreement
In a joint statement, the three countries said that the purpose of the defense agreement was to “strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression,” stipulating that any armed attack against any of the three countries would be considered an attack against all of them, while also providing for the strengthening of all aspects of defense cooperation among the three countries.
However, while the agreement pledged mutual support, it left the details of defense arrangements and each party’s obligations toward the others vague and undisclosed. A Turkish official told Reuters that “the agreement is purely defensive in nature,” while the BBC reported that Saudi Arabia views the agreement as an additional layer of security and protection in a tense region, after coming under Iranian attacks and witnessing an escalation last month by the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who receive direct support from Iran and are regarded as Tehran’s largest military arm in the region.
The Houthis attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities, and oil tankers in the Red Sea and imposed a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, days before the tripartite agreement was announced. The kingdom turned to the agreement in an attempt to deter the attacks against it by relying on other regional, non-Arab powers, away from the Gulf Cooperation Council states.
The BBC report noted that the military capabilities possessed by Turkey and Pakistan may mean they have little need for defensive support from Saudi Arabia, while Riyadh is viewed as a major economic power with substantial financial resources, giving it increasing value within the agreement. Yet the prospect of Turkey and Pakistan intervening to protect Saudi Arabia from attacks originating from Iran and Yemen remains highly uncertain, as such a step would require highly precise and complex diplomatic calculations and could lead to further escalation in the region.
In a statement on August 13, the Turkish Defense Ministry said that the tripartite agreement meant “establishing political and military mechanisms with coordination at the highest levels of military leadership, alongside gradually expanding joint military exercises and cooperation in the defense industries, but it does not replace other alliances already in place.”
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that “the agreement is purely defensive, and other countries can join it if they are prepared to support its principles and resolve disputes through peaceful means,” opening the door to the possible inclusion of other countries in the region, despite the absence of an announced military commitment by each party to the others in the event of attacks or war.
A New Test for Saudi Arabia
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The new alliance represents another test of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to the provisions of this type of agreement. The kingdom has previously entered alliances in the Middle East that did not fully materialize in its favor and ultimately resulted in what could be described as a turning away from allies in pursuit of other interests Riyadh deemed more important.
During the war against the Houthis, who threaten the security of the region and the world, Saudi Arabia allied with the UAE and its forces in Yemen. The coalition succeeded in reaching the outskirts of the city of Hodeidah in 2018, at a time when the Houthis were on the verge of total collapse. Saudi Arabia then abruptly halted its advance, disregarded the Stockholm Agreement, and suspended operations without justification, giving the Houthi movement breathing room to recover. The group subsequently regained its strength and began directing attacks against Saudi territory.
Such decisions by Riyadh during its military and defense alliances raise questions over the extent of Saudi Arabia’s commitment to managing and preserving alliances, placing it in a difficult position as it enters into an alliance with two regional powers such as Turkey and Pakistan—countries that have little need for Saudi military power for their own protection, while the kingdom itself has a greater need for protection and security amid the multiple attacks it has faced recently.
Following the Gulf states’ success in confronting intensive Iranian attacks involving advanced missiles and drones, and the retaliatory and deterrent responses undertaken by some countries against Tehran—foremost among them the UAE, which succeeded in halting the Iranian attack through deterrence operations using its advanced military forces, which are superior to their Iranian counterparts—the Gulf states expected Saudi Arabia to turn toward its immediate neighbors and build alliances around the success achieved during the Iranian attack.
Instead, Riyadh turned away from its Gulf and Arab surroundings and moved toward Turkey and Pakistan, which primarily view it as a financially and economically valuable power.
