Makkah Pact Ratified by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia as Allies Head to Tehran

Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have completed ratification of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, the Foreign Office said on October 23, as senior officials from both countries and Turkiye travelled to Tehran on October 26 for talks Saudi officials described as part of a push to de-escalate the wider regional conflict, Dawn reported.

Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan told a weekly press briefing on October 23 that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have both finished their domestic ratification procedures for the pact, which Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye signed in August. Turkiye has submitted the agreement to its parliament but is still "undertaking the requisite procedures in accordance with its domestic legal framework," Khan said.

What the pact actually commits the three countries to

Under the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, an armed attack on one signatory is to be treated as an attack on all three. Khan described the pact as "essentially defensive in nature," consistent with Article 51 of the UN Charter on self-defence, and said it is "not directed against any particular country." Whether to invoke it collectively over continuing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, he said, "has to be decided by the three partner countries in accordance with the agreement."

That question has already moved from the hypothetical. Earlier in October, the three countries agreed at an emergency meeting in Riyadh to rapidly deploy military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia after Houthi drones targeted Madina and attempted to reach Makkah, and Pakistan's military has since confirmed Pakistani troops are present in Saudi Arabia under the arrangement.

Why the Tehran trip matters

Senior officials from all three Makkah pact countries were due in Tehran on Monday: Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir. Iran's state news agency IRNA quoted Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, as saying the group would meet President Masoud Pezeshkian and security chief Mohsen Rezaei to pursue what he called "endogenous security" for the region.

Dawn described the visit as the first high-level contact between Iran and all three Makkah pact members since Saudi Arabia was drawn more deeply into the conflict that began with the US-Iran war in late February. Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the trip was part of the alliance's de-escalation efforts, building on mediation already under way from Qatar and Pakistan.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, said the Tehran talks would cover regional threats, including Israeli policy, developments in Palestine and Lebanon, and the aftermath of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. He said Munir had visited Tehran the previous week, when the idea for Monday's meeting was first raised, and that Tehran had reviewed the proposal "favourably." Pakistan's Foreign Office had not commented on the Tehran visit as of Dawn's report.

A conflict still without a settled endpoint

The diplomacy comes against a backdrop that has shifted repeatedly since February: an April ceasefire ended the initial bombardment between the US, Israel and Iran, but the wider standoff, including over the Strait of Hormuz, has continued, and a diplomatic track collapsed in June. Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and Red Sea shipping have escalated since, drawing in the Makkah pact countries more directly and straining Pakistan's own energy imports through the same shipping routes. Iran has said Washington must take the first steps to rebuild trust, and that accepting Tehran's own seven-point proposal could be a starting point for renewed talks.

What to watch

Neither Pakistan's Foreign Office nor its military has issued a statement on the outcome of Monday's Tehran meeting. Turkiye's parliamentary ratification of the Makkah pact also remains unfinished, and officials have not said when it is expected to conclude.

Build Better Pakistan's Security Desk is following the Tehran talks and the Makkah pact's implementation and will update this piece as developments are confirmed.