ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is not aimed against Iran or any other country, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, describing the pact as an important step toward regional stability.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the agreement in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on Friday. It states that an attack on one would be considered an attack on all three.
The “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” brings together oil-rich Saudi Arabia and nuclear power Pakistan as well as Turkey, which has NATO’s second-largest army and a rapidly growing defense industry. It deepens cooperation and deterrence at a time of increased regional uncertainty and threats from the war in Iran.
In an interview with Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan insisted that the three countries do not view any particular state as an adversary unless they take hostile action against them.
“We don’t have anything written down — nothing we’ve signed — that defines a common threat,” Fidan said. “Any country that does not attack us is not a target for us.”
The Turkish minister described the agreement's clause on mutual defense as being “technically the same” as NATO's Article 5, under which an attack on one of the 32 members is considered an attack on them all.
Asked how the mechanism would work, Fidan said a member would need to formally request help and that the other two countries’ assistance could range from intelligence sharing to logistic support — or the deployment of military units depending on the threat.
“These are multi‑layered matters that vary according to the scale of the threat,” Fidan said. “This is the perspective we have set out so far in our work.”
The Turkish minister said other nations — which he did not name — have expressed interest in joining the agreement, adding that he expects Egypt, which he described as a “natural partner,” to participate “at the next stage.”
Under the deal, the foreign and defense ministers of the three countries, along with their military chiefs, would hold regular committee meetings. The three countries would also establish a secretariat, to be based in Saudi Arabia, Fidan said.
From left, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif pose after signing a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (Saudi Press Agency via AP)
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) — To hear Dallas Cowboys coaches and players tell it, anyone within earshot of a defensive meeting knows something is happening.
“If you step in our meeting room, you hear how loud it is, you might think something wrong is going on,” defensive coordinator Christian Parker said. “And that’s a good thing. Guys are understanding what needs to be said.”
For Parker, the 34-year-old newcomer tasked with improving what was one of the NFL’s worst defenses last season, everything starts with the communication inside those walls.
“We still have more to go, but there’s a lot of encouraging things that are happening from a vocal standpoint,” he said.
Parker, who spent the past five seasons as a defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos and Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Cowboys in January, has players going through the multiple layers of verbal and non-verbal give and take required.
“For example, if you’re a linebacker on the field, you’re making the front adjustment,” he said, going through what reviewing one play from a training camp practice entails. “If you’re an outside linebacker and you see that the Y is off, you’re saying something to your partner. If I’m a DB, I’m calling out the coverage communication. Motion happens, we’re alerting this, we’re passing off this. Once the play starts, what is the communication?”
The goal is to create conditions as close to a game as possible in order to develop the necessary muscle memory and awareness to succeed when things get real, starting with their season opener at the New York Giants on Sept. 13.
“You know, your brain doesn’t know that you’re not taking a physical rep. It just knows that your brain is strained,” Parker said. “So, as many reps that we can get on task as that as possible, we want to try to take advantage of those in that space.”
Early returns have been promising, with the secondary showing far fewer breakdowns than it did a year ago, but the first major test of Parker’s influence will come when the Cowboys visit the Los Angeles Rams for a joint practice on Tuesday.
Safety Malik Hooker remembers how the poorly the pass defense performed in a 2025 workout with the Rams, an early indication the Cowboys would go on to allow the most yards through the air in the league.
“I feel like last year we had a lot of big plays given up off communication errors,” Hooker said. “Not only that, I feel like our physicality didn’t really show as much that day.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb, left, chats with safety Cobie Durant during the NFL football team's training camp, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Ameer Speedle, left, breaks up a pass intended for wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling during the NFL football team's training camp, Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Cobie Durant, left, and defensive back Reddy Steward vie for the ball during the NFL football team's training camp, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
