Iran says it received invitation to join Mecca mutual defense pact

TEHRAN, Iran — An Iranian official said Tehran has been invited to join the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, and is reviewing the offer. Mehdi Rahimi, head of Iran's parliament-affiliated Khane Mellat news agency, told reporters the invitation was being examined and assessed in Tehran, without elaborating on a timeline. Rahimi said regional countries were moving toward building a collective security framework. He noted that the pact's provisions mirror NATO's Article 5, under which an armed attack on any member would be treated as an attack on all and would trigger joint defense. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the agreement in Mecca on August 7, 2026. The pact formalizes the principle that aggression against one member is considered aggression against all. No official confirmation has come from Iran's Foreign Ministry or senior government offices, and Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad have not publicly commented on Iran's reported invitation. Further details on Iran's response were not immediately available.