Saudi ⁠Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye sign defence deal amid regional turmoil

Saudi ⁠Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye have signed a ⁠joint defence agreement, Pakistan’s ⁠foreign ministry said, deepening ‌security cooperation amid heightened military tensions and conflicts in the Middle East.

Pakistan’s ⁠foreign ministry on Friday said the agreement states ⁠that an armed ⁠attack on any one of the ⁠three countries would be ⁠regarded as an ⁠attack against them all.

The deal comes a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, accompanied by powerful army chief Asim Munir, arrived in Saudi Arabia and performed the Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also travelled to Saudi Arabia on Friday to meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose country has been struck repeatedly by Iran, as well as by Tehran’s Houthi allies in Yemen and Shia armed groups in Iraq, since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.

This is a breaking story. More soon…