Istanbul hosts the first Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan defence committee
Foreign and defence ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will meet in Istanbul on 31 August for the first committee under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. The 7 August accord treats an attack on any of the three as an attack on all, like NATO's Article 5, after Iranian missile fire on Gulf oil exporters. In Tehran, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei wrote to Islamic clerics calling the United States and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations; no government answer is reported.
Geopolitics··Night
Ministers of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan meet in Istanbul on 31 August
Foreign and defence ministers and the chiefs of staff of Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will meet in Istanbul on 31 August for the first committee session under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, a Turkish foreign ministry source said. The accord, signed on 7 August, treats an armed attack on any of the three as an attack on all, in the manner of NATO's Article 5 collective defence clause. The source said international security issues would be on the agenda, with talks expected to cover defence capabilities, greater interoperability between the armed forces and deeper defence-industry cooperation, including joint production and development.[1]
The Mecca pact followed Iranian missile fire, with NATO-style language, six months into the war
The three governments share concerns about the military postures of Israel and Iran. The pact brought together Sunni Muslim allies of the United States after Iranian missile fire on Gulf oil exporters, and it comes six months into the war that Washington and Israel launched against Iran, with negotiations at an impasse and the US Treasury pressing a financial campaign against Tehran. The Istanbul session is the first committee meeting under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed on 7 August by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.[1]
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei asks Islamic clerics in Tehran to treat the US and Israel as enemies
Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei wrote to religious leaders from Islamic countries meeting at a conference in Tehran, urging cooperation and unity and calling the United States and Israel enemies of all Islamic nations. He told them to know their real enemy. The letter was carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA, and it sets out Tehran's position rather than a commitment by the governments it addresses. The message went to clerics gathered in the Iranian capital and frames the confrontation as one between Islamic nations and two named adversaries rather than between Iran and its opponents. Nothing in the report shows a government answering the call.[2]
