Iran Reportedly Invited to Join Mecca Joint Defence Agreement Signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye
Iranian parliamentary news agency head tells Al-Mayadeen Tehran received an invitation currently under consideration, though no confirmation has come from Iran's Foreign Ministry, senior leadership, or any of the three signatory states
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iran has reportedly been invited to join the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Türkiye, according to a claim made to Al-Mayadeen by Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Iranian parliament's official news agency Khaneh Mellat, who said the invitation was received and that "the matter is under consideration."
The claim, if confirmed, would represent one of the most dramatic diplomatic developments to emerge from the six-month US-Iran conflict, potentially transforming the Mecca agreement from a three-nation collective defence pact into a broader regional security framework that includes Tehran alongside its most consequential Gulf rival, Saudi Arabia.
However, the report carries significant caveats that require careful treatment. As of Sunday, the invitation has not been independently confirmed by Iran's Foreign Ministry, by any senior Iranian leadership figure, or publicly by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, or Türkiye, the three nations that signed the agreement. The source of the claim, the head of the Iranian parliament's news agency rather than a foreign ministry or national security official, places it below the threshold of an official state position.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan in a development that President Donald Trump celebrated enthusiastically on Truth Social, calling it a "BIG, BOLD, AND IMPORTANT FIRST STEP" and praising the great leadership of the three nations. Trump described the agreement as proof that the Middle East is coming together and that countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had also praised the agreement in his Al Jazeera interview, describing it as sending an important message to the world and establishing a mutual defence obligation among its signatories.
The prospect of Iranian membership in a Saudi-anchored defence pact, were it to materialize, would carry enormous implications for the regional order that has been reshaped by the US-Iran conflict. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been on opposite sides of the conflict's most consequential military and diplomatic confrontations, with Saudi Arabia participating alongside American forces in joint precision strikes on Iranian proxy targets in eastern Iraq on July 28, 2026, and announcing the halting of all trade and financial transactions with Iran on August 18, 2026. Tehran has directed drone and missile attacks against Saudi energy infrastructure throughout the conflict, including strikes on the Ras Tanura refinery.
The claim of an Iranian invitation also arrives on a day when Ibrahim Rezaei, an IRGC-aligned Iranian parliamentarian, explicitly threatened Qatar, Kuwait, and the UAE on X for hosting American military aircraft, and when Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei warned on Saturday that Tehran will target the interests of any country helping the United States wage economic warfare against the Islamic Republic, neither of which is consistent with the posture of a country preparing to join a Saudi-led collective defence framework.