Turkiye has said the new defence pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan is not directed against Iran or any other country and could eventually expand to include additional regional states, as Ankara seeks to strengthen regional security cooperation amid heightened tensions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Saturday that the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the holy city of Makkah on Friday, did not identify any country as a common adversary.

“We don’t have anything written down — nothing we’ve signed — that defines a common threat,” Fidan told Turkiye’s state-run Anadolu Agency.

“Any country that does not attack us is not a target for us.”

The agreement commits the three countries to mutual defence, with an attack on one considered an attack on all three.

Fidan described the provision as technically similar to NATO’s Article 5, although he said the form of assistance would depend on the nature and scale of any attack.

Support could range from intelligence sharing and logistical assistance to the deployment of military forces, he said, adding that any member would first have to formally request assistance.

Fidan said the pact, which has been under discussion for nearly three years, was not intended to replace existing alliances and remained open to expansion.

He said several countries had expressed interest in joining, while Egypt could become a participant at a later stage once technical issues are resolved.

Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt have also worked together through the so-called R4 grouping on regional issues, including the war involving Iran.

Under the defence agreement, the foreign and defence ministers and military chiefs of the three founding members will hold regular meetings.

A joint secretariat will also be established in Saudi Arabia, while further operational details are expected to be determined by the first committee meeting.

Fidan said Ankara wanted the initiative to eventually bring more regional countries under the same framework, describing the initial three-member arrangement as a starting point for broader cooperation.

The pact comes amid heightened regional uncertainty and security concerns linked to the conflict involving Iran, but Fidan stressed that the agreement was intended to strengthen deterrence and regional stability rather than target a specific country.