Iran says Pak-Saudi-Turkiye deal shows 'change in perception' towards US

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkiye signed a joint defence agreement in Makkah on Friday, establishing a mutual-defense pact where an attack on any one of the three countries would be treated as an attack on all of them. Iran's Foreign Ministry responded on Monday by saying the pact is a sign that regional countries are shifting their perception of U.S. security guarantees. Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that regional countries have realised that "security is not a commodity that can be bought from false security brokers," referring to the United States. Baqaei stressed there is "no reason to worry" the treaty is directed against Iran, citing deep religious, historical, and civilisational ties between Iran and the three signatories. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has been briefing regional and international partners on the pact, speaking to officials from Kuwait, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, and Canada to explain its purely defensive nature.

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