By ANDREW BERNARD<\/p>\n
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salam, the de facto head of the Saudi Arabian government and prime minister. (Photo courtesy the Saudi Arabi Press Agency)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The agreement brings together three of the largest military powers in the world including, in Pakistan, the world\u2019s only nuclear-armed Muslim state, amid the ongoing war between the United States and Iran.<\/p>\n
The three countries did not release the text of the defense pact, but a statement issued by Pakistan\u2019s foreign ministry echoed the language of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement is intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression and stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states,\u201d the Pakistani ministry said.<\/p>\n
Iran has repeatedly fired missiles at Saudi Arabia and Turkey since the United States and Israel began military operations against the Islamic Republic in February, and in recent years, the regime has engaged in border skirmishes with Pakistan.<\/p>\n
Pakistan is also in an ongoing \u201copen war\u201d with Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, in addition to its long history of wars and border clashes with India.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not clear how the defense pact will operate in practice, but it is the latest signal of deepening ties between the three Sunni Muslim states, all of which are also allies of the United States, either as a member of NATO in the case of Turkey or as designated major non-NATO allies in the case of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
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