Tehran: We have not received an official invitation to join the Mecca Agreement. Tehran denied receiving an invitation to join the Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense, signed between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan.
According to National Iraqi News Agency, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei confirmed at a press conference: “We have not received an official invitation, but proposals have been made to hold talks with these countries regarding collective security in the region.”
Baghaei’s statement came hours after remarks by Mehdi Rahimi, head of the Iranian parliament’s news agency, Khaneh Mellat, who said that “Iran has received an invitation to join the Mecca Agreement, and the matter is under review and evaluation in Tehran.” Rahimi explained that the agreement’s provisions are similar in content to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO), which stipulates that any military attack against one member state is considered a direct attack against all signatory states and necessitates collective defense.
Baghaei emphasized that Iran did not start the war with the United States and will not allow an end to the war to be imposed on it according to the aggressor’s terms. He stressed that Iranian officials have made it clear they will not make any concessions, and that the Iranian president has repeatedly affirmed his firm stance of Iran’s non-surrender, in an escalation of official rhetoric toward Washington.
Baghaei added that no country has any justification to be concerned about Iran unless its bases provide an aggressor with an opportunity to commit an act of aggression. He emphasized that Iran will not compromise in defending its sovereignty and that it has the right to target the source and origin of any act of aggression against the country, in a clear message to regional and international parties.
Regarding the Strait of Hormuz, Baghaei considered the claims that the strait is open to be “psychological warfare,” warning that Iran will not stand idly by in responding to the American naval blockade. He stated that escalating the blockade into what Washington calls “economic warfare” will inevitably lead to dire consequences. This was in response to the US president’s threats to launch “the most crushing economic operation” against Iran, which Baghaei described as “a recipe for a horrific return to traditional, comprehensive colonialism.”