Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesperson: Mecca Defense Pact Signals a Shift in the Region's Security Thinking

Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, said Monday, 19 Mordad 1405 (August 10, 2026), according to IRNA, in response to a question about the joint defense pact between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye known as the Mecca Pact, that the development reflects a shift in regional countries' security thinking, and that regional states have concluded from developments over the past two to three years that security cannot be bought from false brokers. He added that the Islamic Republic of Iran's consistent policy has been to encourage regional cooperation and mutual trust to build homegrown security without relying on actors from outside the region. The remarks came a day after Pakistan's foreign minister said the Mecca Pact targets no country and that any regional state wishing to join may do so.