Türkiye

Rep. Joe Wilson on the Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia pact: the Mecca Defense Alliance could become the NATO of the Middle East.

Turkish President Erdogan on the space race:

"The space race cannot be a competition conducted among just a few countries."

"Space is not a prize to be seized by whoever gets there first. In particular, weaponizing space and turning it into an arena for an arms race is profoundly wrong."

A Turkish grain ship was attacked by a drone in the Black Sea off the Romanian coast, Romanian media reported. The vessel's captain was wounded and at least 13 crew members are listed as missing.

The IDF killed Zakar Nabil Musa Kisi, a Hamas Nukhba operative, in a strike in Khan Younis earlier today. The IDF said he took part in the October 7 invasion of Israel and directed the Turkish organization Deniz Feneri, which presents itself as a humanitarian charity while maintaining ties to senior Hamas and Turkish figures.

Central Turkey hit by a preliminary 4.7-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter sat 26 km south of Saimbeyli, at a depth of 8 km.

Ran Baratz, former adviser to Prime Minister Netanyahu:

"The Turks brought down Assad. That was not to our benefit. Assad was more convenient for us."

"Assad was not aggressive, and he was a very convenient conduit for proxies, for Hezbollah."

Joint exercises, military training and political cooperation are all on hold as NATO partnership agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan enter a second year of deadlock. France blocked Azerbaijan's over bilateral disputes. Turkey blocked Armenia's, demanding both plans be approved together. NATO diplomats warn the standstill could undermine efforts by Yerevan and Baku to move closer to the West as both distance themselves from Russia.

POLITICO

Senior officials from Syria's new government held talks with senior Hezbollah officials in Turkey last month, the first meeting of its kind, Reuters reports. Progress was made at the meeting. Syrian authorities accused Hezbollah this week of links to a terror cell that attempted to operate near the Israeli border.

The U.S. Treasury sanctioned 10 individuals and entities in Iran, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey for procuring weapons and weapons components for Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. The designations were made under Operation Economic Outcast and target networks supporting Iran's UAV, military aircraft and ballistic missile programs.

Regional security was on the table as UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed hosted Turkish FM Hakan Fidan in Abu Dhabi.

Emirati state media.

Reports indicate that all remaining Iranian carrier flights to Turkey are expected to be halted or canceled in early October due to mounting U.S. sanctions.

-Turkey Today.

A legal case against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is being prepared on orders from Israel's Prime Minister, i24NEWS reports. The file centers on Erdogan's conduct toward the Kurds and also covers his ties to Hamas and its financing. Any submission to the ICC in The Hague would most likely come through a proxy rather than Israel directly.

Iranian President to Al Jazeera: "We welcome the agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed Turkey's S-400 systems and the risk of third-party transfers, saying Moscow would supply the systems only under firm guarantees against resale.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, brother of the crown prince, met Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir in Riyadh.

He said the two discussed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, in particular on Mecca, and stressed they will continue to act together against them under the joint defense alliance.

Munir was in the capital for a meeting of the chiefs of staff of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.

Iraq's PM al-Zaidi:

"We are working to diversify our oil export ports and develop energy corridors linking Iraq, Turkey, Jordan, and Syria in order to reach global markets."

Talks to unblock the Black Sea now include representatives from Egypt, India, Turkey and the Middle East, Ukrainian President Zelensky said.

Turkish FM Hakan Fidan:

"Nobody criticizes NATO as a paper tiger. But when it comes to a newborn defense alliance, they point to a 10-year crisis in Yemen and say, 'Look, this is not working.' We have only just started."

Fidan was responding to claims that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia were the Mecca Alliance's first test. He asked former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey how many times NATO's Article 5 had been invoked. Jeffrey: only once.

NEW: Chiefs of staff from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan will convene under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, the pact signed in August 2026 treating an attack on one member as an attack on all three.

The trigger: escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi sites, including near Yanbu and Taif. No military deployment or combat support has been requested.

Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu went after Qatar and Turkey in the same breath.

On Qatar: "It tries to brainwash young people into hating Israel. It hosted Hamas leaders on its territory."

On Turkey: "Erdogan hosts Hamas leaders. He kills journalists and political opponents and holds a record when it comes to this. He occupied northern Cyprus, threatens Greece, and now wants to take control of Syria."

PM Netanyahu:

Turkish president Erdogan is Tyrant

Erdogan: "Confident" Turkey will get the F-35 after his talks with Trump.

Report: Israel pressured the UAE against buying Turkey's Russian-made S-400 systems, Turkish outlet Haber7 reports, a move that could delay a sale seen as a path toward Ankara's return to the F-35 program. According to the report, Turkey is now pursuing an alternative formula to settle the S-400 dispute and lift U.S. CAATSA sanctions.

Unverified report.

Magnitude 5.5 earthquake hits eastern Turkey.

EMSC