Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. Known for its nuclear capability, strategic position between the Middle East and South Asia, and historical role balancing relations between major powers. Recently, Pakistan has emerged as a primary mediator between the U.S. and Iran and joined a trilateral defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Last updated 5 days ago
IslamabadCity Shehbaz SharifHead of State Pakistani Ministry of Foreign AffairsGovernment Body BalochistanState / Province KarachiCity Nur Khan Air Force BaseStrategic Site Azad KashmirState / Province DawnMedia Outlet Embassy of PakistanGovernment Body Geo NewsMedia Outlet ISPRGovernment Body Jamaat-ul-AhrarParamilitary / Militia Karachi PortStrategic Site Mohammad Naved QarishiOther MuzaffarabadCity Pakistan ArmyMilitary Pakistan Commerce MinistryGovernment Body Pakistan International AirlinesEnergy / Industry Pakistani NavyMilitary Port QasimStrategic Site QuettaCity RangersParamilitary / Militia Sindh RangersParamilitary / Militia Pakistani Ministry of FinanceGovernment Body Pakistani Ministry of InteriorGovernment Body
Mediators need more time on the stalled U.S.–Iran files, a source told Al Arabiya. The Pakistani mediator is optimistic the 60-day window will be extended.
Pakistani-led mediation for an Iran-U.S. ceasefire has intensified in recent days but produced no significant movement, the pro-Qatari Al-Arabi Al-Jadid reports.
Two challenges remain: the Strait of Hormuz and the guarantees Iran demands. A Pakistani Foreign Ministry source says Iran's insistence on the Strait is the central obstacle. Efforts now focus on returning both sides to a memorandum of understanding with changes Iran wants. Washington has yet to respond.
Saudi Arabia opposed including Egypt in the tripartite defense alliance with Pakistan and Turkey, per Middle East Eye. Riyadh is frustrated with President al-Sisi and no longer views Cairo as a strategic asset. Turkey had said Egypt may also join. It marks a shift for bin Salman, who once funded and protected Egypt.
Saudi King Salman: The "Mecca meeting" between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will help create a framework for a long-term defense partnership between the three countries, as well as address shared regional challenges.
NOW: Pakistan’s defense minister told Bloomberg that Washington and Tehran appear to be nearing an agreement, saying a lasting settlement would serve the interests of the wider region.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister on the new defense pact with Turkey and Saudi Arabia: "The agreement is defensive and is not directed against any country. Its purpose is to strengthen security cooperation and joint deterrence."
Iran's FM Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on the Mecca Agreement:
There is no reason for us to be concerned that this pact between the two neighboring countries of Türkiye and Pakistan, as well as Saudi Arabia--three countries with which we sh...
Iran's FM Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei on the Mecca Agreement:
There is no reason for us to be concerned that this pact between the two neighboring countries of Türkiye and Pakistan, as well as Saudi Arabia--three countries with which we share deep religious, historical, and civilizational bonds -- is directed against Iran.
The history of friendship between the nations of Türkiye and Pakistan, as two neighboring Muslim countries, is long-standing.
This development is an important sign [of a shift in regional perceptions].
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. An attack on one is now an attack on all three. Riyadh lit its landmarks in the three flags.
Houthi PM Mahdi Almshat responds to the Saudi-Turkish-Pakistani defense alliance signed today: the agreements do not apply retroactively, and the "blockade for blockade" equation will continue until its goals are met.
Anyone backing what he called Saudi Arabia's 12-year aggression and blockade is "an aggressor - even if he wraps the matter in flashy headlines."
Iran's Ibrahim Rezaii: ‘Saudis must know that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as years of one-sided nursing to the Americans did not bring them security. Reform your policies so that you do not need to beg for security from others’
A Turkish official says the newly signed Mecca Agreement between Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan is defensive in nature and pledges mutual support only for defense purposes.
The official says it targets no specific actor and stays open to other regional countries.
What is the point of a Saudi Pakistan defense pact if Iran backed militias and the Houthis can strike Saudi infrastructure without a Pakistani response?
Pakistan
