Egypt May Join Turkey-Pakistan-Saudi Defense Pact
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- Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Egypt could join a proposed defense pact between Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia once technical issues are resolved, with the agreement modeled on NATO's Article 5 — under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
- Fidan said the pact would include a committee of ministers and a general secretariat modeled on NATO's structure, and that Turkey must be involved in an international coalition to address security concerns surrounding Red Sea shipping.
- US Vice President JD Vance told Fox News that Washington is seeking an Iranian commitment not to target commercial vessels as part of efforts to restore safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Vance said the strait must be cleared of mines and a safe passage system established before commercial traffic can return to normal, with Iran and Gulf countries, particularly Oman, discussing ways to ensure safe maritime traffic.
Why it matters: Fidan's proposed NATO-style defense pact between Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and potentially Egypt would create Article 5-style mutual defense obligations outside Western frameworks, with Fidan explicitly tying the structure to Red Sea security. Separately, Vance's requirement that Hormuz be cleared of mines before traffic resumes makes coordinated mine clearance the concrete bottleneck for Gulf shipping.
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