President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he hoped more countries would join a defence agreement signed last week between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan aimed at stabilising a region wracked by conflict. The so-called Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed on Friday as the Middle East grapples with fallout from the US-Iran war which has dragged in regional players and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

Observers suggest the new alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan won't result in any of the countries fighting for each other. Instead it's about preventing Iran and…

The Mecca Pact seeks to strengthen regional security, strategic autonomy and collective deterrence amid growing instability in the Middle East