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31 August 2026
Mecca defense agreement launches process for ‘new regional security, cooperation architecture’: Turkish foreign minister
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference following the inaugural meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee, established under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, in Istanbul, Turkiye on August 31, 2026. [Arif Hüdaverdi Yaman – Anadolu Agency]
The Mecca defense agreement has launched a process to establish a “new security and cooperation architecture” in the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday, Anadolu reports.
Speaking in Istanbul following the first meeting under the trilateral agreement between Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Fidan said: “With this agreement, the process of testing a new security and cooperation architecture in our region has begun.”
Regional countries urgently need to act together for security, stability, prosperity and lasting peace, he added.
Fidan attended the meeting at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace alongside Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of General Staff Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu.
Pakistan’s delegation included Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Saudi Arabia was represented by Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman and Chief of General Staff Gen. Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.
‘Alliance established with aim of expanding’
Fidan said the agreement allows other countries to join the alliance, but discussions would be needed with both prospective members and existing members on the conditions, procedures and standards for accession.
He said work is underway on a roadmap for the accession process.
“The alliance was established with the aim of expanding. But at the outset, its foundations need to be laid very well, and its institutionalization also needs to be carried out very well,” Fidan said, adding that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan also share this sensitivity on the issue.
Fidan said the three countries agree on the need to build a strong and institutionalized structure capable of addressing challenges and bringing stability, peace and prosperity to the region, while also expanding the alliance over time.
READ: Mecca defense pact has sent ‘message of unity, peace throughout region’: Pakistan premier
A potential new ally should join a well-established and effectively functioning structure, he said.
“We are now working together to complete the difficult part, which is the establishment phase,” Fidan added.
Fidan added that greater stability would create an environment conducive to more investment and development.
‘International system must fight against Netanyahu threat’
Asked about Israel viewing Turkiye as a “strategic threat,” Fidan said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters have increasingly used rhetoric targeting Turkiye, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish officials as Israel heads into election period.
“We have been following this from the beginning,” he said.
Fidan described Netanyahu as having become a “common enemy of humanity, the international community and security,” calling him a “criminal” and a “perpetrator of genocide” who should not be taken seriously.
He said Netanyahu, his “mentality” and those acting alongside him pose a threat not only to Turkiye but to global security.
“It would be a major mistake to think of this as only Turkiye’s problem,” Fidan said.
He called on the international community to stop Netanyahu, arguing that his policies are harming the region, Israel, the Jewish people and the wider world.
Fidan said Netanyahu’s remarks indicate that he does not want the establishment of a Palestinian state or an end to ongoing occupations in countries across the region.
“He wants the genocidal and occupying approach, which endangers regional and international security, to continue,” Fidan said.
“This is a major threat not only to us, but to the entire region and the international community. The international system must fight against this threat, this Netanyahu threat,” he added.
READ: Report: Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan to hold first meeting under Joint Defence Agreement
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Orcas discuss rotting brain, front Orca says he wishes someone would lock him up, small Orca speaks bluntly.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Donald Trump explains why he established his Bored of Peace
31 August 2026
Israel’s national security minister ‘pleased’ with harsh conditions of Palestinian prisoners
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir gives a speech on January 24, 2023 [Saeed Qaq/Anadolu Agency]
Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said Sunday that he is “pleased” with the harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, adding that he is directly responsible for the prison conditions, Anadolu reports.
His remarks came in a video released on the US social media company X during which he was talking to Palestinian female prisoners.
“The conditions here are very bad, and we women are not afforded any special rights, such as access to personal necessities,” a Palestinian prisoner said in the video.
“This is our third day without showers. We are not receiving medical treatment, and our clothes are not clean,” she added.
“The good conditions that used to exist in the prisons are over,” Ben-Gvir responded through an interpreter.
“The ‘whining’ of the terrorists about the conditions in the prisons doesn’t work on me,” he also wrote in a post accompanying the video.
When the female prisoner asked for the prison conditions to be improved, Ben-Gvir rejected her request.
This is not the first time Ben-Gvir has entered the cells of Palestinian detainees to mock them.
Earlier in August, he mocked a female prisoner who complained about the poor conditions of her detention and the lack of basic necessities, telling her that “prison is not a hotel.”
Since taking office in late 2022, Ben-Gvir has moved to tighten the conditions of detention for Palestinian prisoners, including through policies of starvation and medical neglect, as well as torture and solitary confinement.
Around 9,500 Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli jails, including 94 women and more than 350 children, who suffer from starvation, torture and medical neglect, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights reports.
RAD: Masked Israeli occupiers attack Palestinian woman, NBC News crew in occupied West Bank
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
30 August 2026
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Donald Trump explains that Palestine Action were designated a terrorist group for opposing his policies and vandalizing his golf course.
30 August 2026
Iranian president urges Trump to avoid creating turmoil, says dialogue can resolve problems
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This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses national and international policy matters during a live broadcast on state television in Tehran, Iran, on August 28, 2026. [Iranian Presidency – Anadolu Agency]
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday urged US President Donald Trump to avoid creating turmoil, saying problems could be resolved through dialogue and implementation of a memorandum of understanding, Anadolu reports.
“If we proceed through dialogue and on the basis of the memorandum of understanding, we will resolve the problems and secure our rights,” Pezeshkian said in a ceremony in Tehran, as cited by Mehr News Agency.
“It is in the interest of the country, the region and the world that Trump does not create turmoil and that Israel does not cause insecurity and aggression,” he added.
Pezeshkian said Iran does not favor war but would respond firmly to any assaults.
“We do not like war, but we will stand with strength against aggression and defend ourselves,” he said, adding that no power could force a united nation determined to defend its territory to surrender.
He said Tehran was seeking to resolve problems through dialogue, but stressed that the Iranian people, officials and military commanders would “never surrender” in the face of threats and aggression.
The president also accused Israel of seeking to sow divisions among Muslim countries, saying greater unity among Islamic nations could thwart such efforts.
READ: Iran says it agreed with Oman on Hormuz passage route, links reopening to US commitments
Turning to domestic issues, Pezeshkian said maintaining industrial production during the coming winter was a “red line,” stressing that supplies of gas, electricity and water to production facilities should not be interrupted.
He said the government would manage consumption of water, electricity, gas and fuel and, if restrictions became necessary, would first impose them on government offices and public buildings rather than shift the burden onto the public.
Pezeshkian called on the public to cooperate with the government to maintain stability, saying Iran’s adversaries should not believe that pressure would force the country to surrender.
The US-Israeli war against Iran began on Feb. 28, with attacks targeting military, nuclear and infrastructure sites across the country. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel and US military facilities across the region.
Iran and the US reached a 14-point memorandum of understanding in June, mediated by Pakistan and Qatar, aimed at ending hostilities and opening a 60-day window for negotiations toward a broader agreement.
The memorandum also addressed the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and lifting of the US naval blockade, as well as sanctions and Iran’s frozen assets.
Tehran has maintained that further progress in talks depends on Washington fulfilling its commitments under the memorandum, while Iranian officials have said the Strait of Hormuz will not fully reopen until those obligations are implemented.
READ: Dialogue ‘only viable way out’ of US-Iran conflict, China says amid sanctions threats
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Donald Trump calls for help from NATO allies in securing the Strait of Hormuz despite saying on 7 March 2026 that they don’t need people to join wars after they’ve already won. He’s challenged with the claim that he lies as much as the IDF.
Climate science denier Donald Trump confirms that he knows nothing about democracy and that more liquid gold is being secured according to his policy of global privateering.
Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
29 August 2026

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