Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign 'Mecca Defence Pact' as Hormuz deal nears final sign off

Israel's Mossad intelligence agency has sacked two senior officials over a failed scheme to overthrow Iran's government, prompting backlash in the country's security establishment over the decision.

The plan involved using minority groups in Iran and fomenting protests against the government, according to a report by Israel's Channel 12 on Thursday.

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A Saudi official said Friday that the joint defence pact signed with Turkey and Pakistan was not linked to "any nuclear ambitions" and was not a threat to any country in the region.

"The agreement does not represent an effort to establish a military axis or a sectarian bloc. Nor is it linked to any nuclear ambitions or arms race, rather it is focused on building sustainable capabilities," said Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly in a post on X.

He said the deal "does not constitute a threat to the security of any country in the region, nor does it represent an escalation of tensions between any two states".

In the first Iranian reaction to the so-called "Mecca Defense Pact" between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, a member of the National Security Committee in the Iranian Parliament, Ibrahim Rezaei, said that relying on foreign agreements "will not constitute a safety valve for Riyadh."

"The Saudis must realise that the agreement on paper with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as the years of unilateral hosting of the Americans did not provide them with that," Rezaei added. 

Addressing the Saudis, he said, “Reform your policies so that you do not have to beg for security from others.”

Employment in the United States shrank by 23,000 jobs in July amid the Iran war entering a fifth month, with analysts having expected steady job growth, and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent, government data showed on Friday.

Employment declined in the local government, education and retail trade sectors, while it continued to grow in health care, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a statement.

In the occupied West Bank, settler attacks are taking place at a record rate ahead of Israel's October elections, the first national poll since the war on Gaza in 2023 triggered an explosion in settler expansion.

The surge in violence isn't random. Analysts describe it as a race to lock in facts on the ground before the upcoming vote can change the balance of power, potentially away from ultra-right-wing parties that have enabled settlers to rapidly encroach on Palestinian land.

"The settlement movement has come to treat the elections as an opportunity to accelerate the implementation of its project," Israeli affairs researcher Muhannad Mustafa told The New Arab.

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Yemen's Houthi rebels shelled residential neighbourhoods and displacement camps in the government-held city of Marib on Friday, killing at least two civilians and injuring 14 others, the health minister said.

"Shelling by the terrorist Houthi militia today, Friday, targeting residential neighbourhoods and displacement camps in the city of Marib, has resulted—according to an initial toll—in the deaths of two civilians and injuries of varying severity to 14 others," said Health Minister Qasim Buhaibeh in a post on X.

A Turkish official said on the signing of the "Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense", as described by Saudi-based media outlet Al-Arabiya, between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, that it is "purely defensive" in nature and commits to mutual support solely for "defensive purposes".

According to the official, "The agreement is not directed against any specific party and is open to other regional countries."

Hassan Qashqavi, spokesman for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee in the Iranian parliament, said that the general framework of an understanding with the Sultanate of Oman with the Strait of Hormuz has been reached, adding that the text will be finalised soon and details will be announced, according to Iran's conservative Tasnim news agency.

Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a defence pact that would mean an attack on any member is regarded as an attack on all, Islamabad said on Friday.

"The 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," Pakistan foreign ministry said of the pact signed in Saudi Arabia by the three nations' leaders.

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have formally signed a defence agreement between them, according to multiple outlets.

The Kremlin said on Friday that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in the Gulf region with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed.

The Kremlin stated that Putin expressed during a phone call his gratitude to the UAE for its role in organising the exchange of prisoners of war and detainees between Russia and Ukraine.

The dollar was little changed on the day on Friday ahead of the monthly US payrolls report, but was still headed for a weekly gain against major peers as uncertainty about an Iran peace deal buoyed the US currency's safe-haven appeal.

The closely watched payrolls report could provide more clues on the Federal Reserve's rate path as markets are weighing the chance of a potential interest rate hike.

US nonfarm payrolls are forecast to have risen by 80,000 last month after an increase of 57,000 in June, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 4.2%.

"It is all about payrolls today," Nick Rees, head of macro research at Monex Europe, said, noting that there could be a "modest" dollar sell-off if the report comes in softer than expected.

The dollar index—which measures the currency against a basket of six major peers, including the euro, yen and sterling—was a touch higher on the day at 99.975, up 0.17% for the week, following a 1.6% plunge the previous week.

The greenback traded little changed at 158.43 yen, after gaining 0.4% on Thursday.

The Lebanese army said a soldier was "slightly injured" by an Israeli attack on an army bulldozer, NNA reported.

The attack took place in the town of Mansouri, Tyre, south Lebanon, while the army was working to open roads and remove rubble.

Over 2,000 Britons served in the Israeli military during the Gaza genocide, yet the British state targeted Palestine solidarity instead, writes Jeanine Hourani.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Saudi Arabia’s city of Jeddah, Saudi media reports, where he is expected to sign a defense agreement with the kingdom and Pakistan.

Israel's military have carried out attacks on Wadi al-Hujair, southern Lebanon and near the town of Mays al-Jabal, according to Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA)

Moreover, Israeli drones hover over Beirut and its suburbs. 

A Houthi drone attack on Yemen's Marib province killed three members of government forces on Friday and wounded another four, a Yemeni military source told AFP.

"Three killed and four wounded in a preliminary toll from the Houthi drone attack on the Harib area, in the south of Marib," the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Yemen's Houthis late Thursday wounded 11 people in an attack on southern Saudi Arabia, a Riyadh-led coalition said, the highest toll in the kingdom from an attack by the rebels in years.

The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both Yemen government forces and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

Casualties in Thursday's attack included seven Saudis, including a four-year-old who sustained second-degree burns, and a woman, two Egyptians, a Yemeni and a Pakistani, coalition spokesman General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement carried by the official Saudi news agency.

The attack was carried out in the Najran region, on the border with Yemen, he added.

Recent data showed that navigation traffic through the Strait of Hormuz declined to 33 ships during the period from Monday to Thursday of this week, compared to 50 ships during the same period last week, as markets await the results of the ongoing talks between Iran and the Sultanate of Oman regarding reopening the waterway.

According to Kpler company data, four ships crossed the strait yesterday, Thursday, including a giant crude oil tanker named “Nessus Kia” that transports about two million barrels of Basra crude loaded in Iraq, in addition to two liquefied petroleum gas tankers and a small ship for transporting bulk goods.

The data showed that only six crude oil tankers had left the strait since the beginning of the week, while 21 ships had entered, most of which took the route specified by Iran.

Sources in the shipping sector reported that a number of refining companies in China and India sought during this week to bring ships through the strait and load crude oil from the Iraqi Basra terminal, taking advantage of the huge discounts on Iraqi crude.

The dollar headed for a weekly gain against major peers on Friday as doubts about an Iran peace deal buoyed the US currency's safe-haven appeal.

The greenback also drew support from higher Treasury yields after a Financial Times report citing sources close to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh pointed to the potential for a September interest rate hike, depending on incoming data.

The closely watched monthly US payrolls report , due later on Friday, could provide more clues on the Fed's rate path.

The dollar was mostly flat as of the Asian afternoon on Friday, trading little changed at 158.365 yen, after gaining 0.4% on Thursday.

That kept the dollar-yen pair on course to rise around 0.6% this week, as it recovered from a bout of joint Japan-US intervention that sent it tumbling from near a four-decade high above 163 on Thursday to a 13-week low of 155.20 on Monday.

Against the euro, the greenback edged up to $1.1521 after strengthening about 0.3% in the prior session. The US unit was flat versus sterling, changing hands at $1.3454.

In a statement released on the organisation's website, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council said: "Targeting civilians is a heinous crime and embodies the criminal approach of these militias."

He added that the attack was "a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, and a crime that warrants accountability" and that the GCC supports the measures Saudi Arabia takes to "protect its security, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of its citizens and residents".

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, sources close to the Saudi military and government told AFP.

Regional powers are looking to strengthen security ties against a backdrop of war between the United States and Iran, which has drawn in Gulf states and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

"It was under discussion for a long time but the latest developments in the region expedites it," the source said on condition of anonymity.

A second source close to the Saudi government confirmed also on condition of anonymity that the agreement would be signed on Friday.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the Red Sea city.

Sharif and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir arrived in the kingdom on Thursday for a visit lasting until Saturday, while Erdogan is expected on Friday, according to the Turkish presidency.

Uganda on Thursday authorised the deployment of soldiers to the Gaza Strip, as part of the International Stabilisation Force (ISF) under the disarmament agreement reached at the end of July.

This international force would be part of an initiative by the Board of Peace, an organisation created by US President Donald Trump and tasked, among other things, with preparing for the post-war period.

The Ugandan Parliament passed a motion supporting President Yoweri Museveni's decision to "deploy the Uganda People's Defence Forces in the Gaza Strip for a peacekeeping mission".

General Henry Matsiko welcomed the decision, telling parliament: "I'm very, very proud as Ugandans that Uganda People's Defence Forces is viewed as the anchor of stability in a sea of turbulence, regionally and now globally."

Four other countries have indicated they are willing to join the force, such as Morocco, Kosovo, Albania and Kazakhstan, a Board of Peace source told AFP in July.

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis killed at least 58 government troops in missile and drone attacks on Thursday, a military source said, in one of the deadliest days of the country's civil war in four years.

The attacks come as Yemen is increasingly drawn into the US-Israeli war with Iran, with the rebels stepping up attacks against both government forces and neighbouring Saudi Arabia, a key US ally and supporter of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

The evolving regional situation has prompted Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to seek closer security ties, with the three Muslim-majority nations set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, according to Saudi sources with knowledge of the matter.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

The attacks killed at least 58 government troops and injured dozens, according to the military source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Medical sources had earlier spoken of 38 dead.

The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces, Sabah al-Numan, called on the "Islamic Resistance in Iraq" factions not to carry out their threats to bomb Saudi Arabia, stressing that dialogue with them is still ongoing, stressing that the decision to go to war is "Iraqi and exclusive" in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and that Baghdad will not allow any party to drag the country into US-Israeli war on Iran.

Al-Numan said, in a televised statement, that Saudi Arabia “has not yet provided evidence or proof of its claims regarding the exposure of its lands to bombing,” expressing his hope that the factions will not carry out their threats to target the Kingdom, and added: “If they do so, then every incident has its own story.”