The three states span the eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula and South Asia; Pakistan is the only one with nuclear weapons.
What the pact does—and does not—promise
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a bilateral mutual-defense pact in September 2025; the new agreement adds Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest military by personnel. It says it does not replace existing commitments, including Turkey’s NATO obligations, but gives no public trigger, command structure or troop commitment. Analysts quoted by AP said diplomacy, arms development and technology transfer are more likely near-term effects than mass deployments. The nuclear question is also deliberately unresolved: Pakistan’s arsenal raises the pact’s deterrent value, but the text does not say its nuclear guarantee extends to either partner.