Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statement that Iran may also become a part of the Mecca Defense Agreement in the future has raised new questions about the scope and future of this new regional defense structure.
Addressing students and teachers at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations on Monday (September 7), the Russian Foreign Minister said, "Now is the time to organize cooperation between the countries with the help of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan."
Referring to the Mecca Agreement, he said that the three countries that signed it "have a concept of collective security and defense alliance."
It is noteworthy that Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey had signed a joint defense agreement on August 7. It was named "Makkah Defense Alliance".
The agreement stipulated that "any armed attack against any of the three countries will be considered an attack against all."
However, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have made it clear that this agreement is not against any country.
He has also said that other countries of the region can also join it.
What did the Russian Foreign Minister say
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also cited the same thing.
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He said, "And they (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey) say that the doors are open for other countries to join. And not only for the Gulf countries, but also for Egypt."
On this occasion he said. "At some stage, such conditions can also be agreed upon such that Iran also becomes part of this process."
The Russian Foreign Minister said that if this happens, that is, if Iran also becomes a part of the Mecca Defense Alliance, then "it will be a very good practical step towards the concept that Russia has already presented."
According to media reports, in the same conversation, Sergei Lavrov also said that Russia had made such a proposal 20 years ago.
It said that Gulf countries, including "Arab states" and Iran, should consider preparing an action plan for regional common security.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister arrives to meet Russia
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The day after the Russian Foreign Minister had this conversation, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met him in Moscow.
According to Saudi Press Agency, the government news agency of Saudi Arabia, in this meeting, "the latest events unfolding at the regional and international level were discussed. Apart from this, efforts to reduce tension and calm the situation were also discussed."
The news release after the meeting did not say whether the Russian Foreign Minister discussed Iran's participation in the Mecca Defense Alliance with his Saudi counterpart.
This visit of the Saudi Foreign Minister has taken place at a time when Yemen's Houthis have targeted many Saudi Arabian targets with drones and missiles.
According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the Houthis attacked "civilian and economic" facilities. 73 civilians including women and children were injured in these attacks.
It is said about Yemen's Houthis that they have the support of Iran.
On one hand, Iran-backed Houthis are carrying out attacks in Saudi Arabia, while on the other hand, the Russian Foreign Minister is talking about Iran's possible participation in the defense alliance of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey.
BBC News Urdu has tried to assess the question as to how practical is Iran's participation in the Mecca Defense Agreement. How is Russia viewing this agreement? And what interests can Moscow have in this entire process of regional defense cooperation?
How practical is it for Iran to be part of the Mecca Defense Alliance?
International affairs experts and former diplomats have different opinions about this.
According to some, it seems difficult for Iran to be a part of this alliance in the current regional circumstances. While others believe that the usefulness of this agreement in the long term may depend on Iran's participation.
According to former diplomat Abdul Basit, at this time the possibility of Iran's participation in the Mecca Agreement appears limited. Because the basic requirements of defense alliances include military cooperation, intelligence sharing and mutual trust.
While talking to BBC News Urdu, he said that the level of trust that is necessary for such a security arrangement does not yet exist between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
He also said that as long as "Iran's proxies are present", Saudi Arabia would not want Iran to join the alliance. He was referring to Iran-backed non-state armed groups in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq.
According to Abdul Basit, although Tehran has welcomed the Mecca Agreement, there are different centers of power within Iran.
He said that it would be too early to say whether Iran is ready to join this framework.
Dr. Khurram Iqbal, Associate Professor at the National Institute of Intelligence and Security Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University, also believes that Iran's participation does not appear immediately possible. However, his argument is somewhat different.
According to him, Iran, Pakistan, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia have some common concerns about Israel's growing regional role. But there are differences between them on how to deal with this challenge.
While talking to BBC News Urdu, Dr. Khurram said that some fundamentalist sections within Iran also see the Mecca Agreement as an exclusive Sunni block. For this reason, Iran's immediate involvement appears difficult.
However, former Foreign Secretary Shamshad Ahmed does not agree with this.
According to him, the long-term success of the Mecca Agreement depends on whether it is able to expand its scope to include other regional countries including Iran.
While talking to BBC News Urdu, he said that this is not a religious alliance. Rather it is a concept of regional security.
He said that participation of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Gulf countries and other countries may also be possible in future.
In his words- "The Mecca Agreement will remain a piece of paper unless Iran joins it."
It is noteworthy that Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, had said in an interview given to the government news agency on August 22 that Iran can become a part of the Mecca Agreement only if it is considered a "co-founder" of this agreement.
He had said that Iran should be given a role in preparing the basic documents of the agreement.
He further said. "Iran and Egypt cannot disappear from such agreements. However, their participation must take place as co-founders, that is, as parties whose ideas and views are included in the preparation of the signed documents."
What is Russia's interest in the Mecca Defense Alliance?
According to Dr. Khurram Iqbal, both Russia and China will benefit from the Mecca Defense Alliance.
Talking to BBC, he said that Russia's basic interest is to promote such regional security arrangements in the Middle East, which are less dependent on America.
According to him, Moscow has long been a supporter of the view that solutions to regional security problems should be found by the countries in the region themselves.
"The more America's role as the sole security provider weakens, the more opportunities will arise for Russia and China to increase their political and diplomatic influence."
Shamshad Ahmed believes that not only Russia and China will look positively at the arrangement made under the Mecca Defense Agreement, European countries can also support it.
According to him, Russia, China and Europe all have interests in this region. Therefore, a stable security structure in the region may be in their interest.
Shamshad Ahmed says that the scope of this structure may increase further in future. Under certain circumstances India may also take interest in it.
Experts believe, however, that in Russia's eyes the Mecca Defense Alliance is an action plan for regional security and its interests are also linked to it. But Iran's participation in this still remains uncertain.
