Live updates: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan sign NATO

• NATO-style pact: Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact that stipulates an attack against any one of them “shall be regarded as an attack against them all.” It comes as Saudi Arabia anticipates “multiple coordinated attacks” on ports and airports by Iran-backed militias, a Saudi official told CNN. A senior Iranian official warned the pact will not guarantee Saudi Arabia’s security.

• Hormuz deal: Iran and Oman are close to finalizing a proposed framework for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s deputy foreign minister said. The agreement would not automatically reopen the waterway, he warned. Iran has also denied any direct negotiations with the United States.

• Weapons supply: President Donald Trump has pushed back on reports of the Pentagon’s dwindling munitions stockpile, claiming the US has “massive amounts” but acknowledged some weapons supplies are “tighter.”

Saudi Arabia’s newly-signed mutual defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey will not guarantee the kingdom’s security, a senior Iranian official warned, in the first reaction emerging from Tehran on Friday.

“The Saudis should understand that a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan will not bring them security, just as decades of one-sided dependence on the Americans failed to do so,” Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said on X. “Change your policies so you don’t have to beg others for security.”

Earlier today, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey – three of the region’s most powerful actors – signed a NATO-like mutual defense pact, committing to defend each other if one of them is attacked.

A Turkish official told CNN that the pact is “purely defensive” and is not directed against specific actor.

But it comes at a time when Saudi Arabia faces threats on multiple fronts. A Saudi official told CNN on Thursday the kingdom was bracing for a major, coordinated assault by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

So, the agreement could serve as a warning to Tehran about the consequences of a major attack on Saudi Arabia, which would now draw in Pakistan and Turkey, dramatically widening the war.

CNN’s Gul Tuysuz and Abbas Al Lawati contributed reporting.

Saudi Arabia has drawn two of the Muslim world’s most formidable military powers into its defense as the Iran war moves closer to the kingdom.

Pakistan and Turkey signed a NATO-style mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia in Mecca on Friday, transforming their longstanding security ties into a collective-defense alliance. By treating an attack on one as an attack on all three, the pact could draw Pakistan and Turkey into a war they have carefully kept at arm’s length.

The pact gives Saudi Arabia a powerful new layer of protection beyond its longstanding security partnership with the United States amid growing regional doubts over whether Washington can still be relied upon to protect its oil-rich Gulf allies.

It strengthens Saudi deterrence and presents a united Sunni-led military front against a mounting Iranian threat. It also comes as Israel expands its military reach across the region and Riyadh’s relations with the neighboring United Arab Emirates fray.

Pakistan and Turkey each share a border with Iran and has strong reasons to prevent the conflict from spiraling. Pakistan must manage its sizeable Shiite population and its sensitive relationship with Tehran, while Turkey and Iran share concerns over Kurdish separatism despite competing elsewhere in the region.

Tehran repeatedly struck targets in Saudi Arabia during the war, including civilian infrastructure, energy facilities and US interests. Direct Iranian attacks on Saudi Arabia largely subsided after an April 8 ceasefire took hold, but Iran-backed groups in Yemen and Iraq continued targeting the kingdom.

Riyadh has been one of the war’s most vocal opponents and has worked to restrain US President Donald Trump from escalating against the Islamic Republic. Yet the attacks Saudi Arabia continues to face from multiple fronts have left officials increasingly alarmed and frustrated.

A Saudi official told CNN on Thursday that the kingdom was bracing for a major, coordinated assault by Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Yemen, supported by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. CNN has also reported that Tehran warned Gulf nations that renewed US attacks would trigger retaliation against energy or desalination facilities across the region.

The treaty signed in Mecca on Friday therefore serves as a warning to Tehran: another major attack on Saudi Arabia could invoke the pact, draw Pakistan and Turkey into the conflict and dramatically widen the war.

Months of fighting between Tehran and Washington spilled into the wider region over the past couple days, as Iranian proxies launched fierce salvoes in Yemen — marking a major escalation of violence.

On Friday, a Saudi official told CNN the Gulf nation was braced for “multiple coordinated attacks” by the Iran-backed Houthis and Iraqi militias. That same day, the Houthis launched a flurry of attacks that reportedly killed and wounded dozens near the Yemen-Saudi border – sparking condemnation from Jordanian, Bahraini and Kuwaiti authorities.

Elsewhere, senior leadership from Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed a landmark defense agreement in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, as regional strikes flare.

Here’s what you need to know:

CNN’s Aida Karimi, Nadeen Ebrahim, Tim Lister, Ibrahim Dahman, Sophie Tanno, Nic Robertson, Sophia Saifi and Hira Humayun contributed reporting.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a mutual defense pact that stipulates an attack against any of them “shall be regarded as an attack against them all.”

The agreement between the three US allies comes as Saudi Arabia faces threats on multiple fronts and would compel each country to intervene if another is attacked, much like the pact between NATO nations.

It is “intended to strengthen collective deterrence against any act of aggression” and “further provides for the enhancement of all aspects of defence cooperation among the three states,” the three countries said in a joint statement.

The agreement was signed in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city and the birthplace of the Prophet Mohammed, imbuing it with political and religious symbolism.

As well as being home to Islam’s holiest sites, Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s top oil exporters. Pakistan is the only nuclear-armed Muslim nation.

The agreement came after a meeting between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

It is “guided by the longstanding historical ties among the three states, based on the enduring bonds of brotherhood and Islamic solidarity that unite them, and building upon their shared strategic interests and longstanding defense cooperation,” the statement added.

This post has been corrected to identify Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey’s president.

Global oil prices steadied in early trade, holding onto gains of around 4% made yesterday after reports that Iran was drafting a bill to ban “hostile” vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 0.4% at $82 a barrel at 6.20 a.m. ET while WTI futures, the US benchmark, ticked 0.1% lower to $77 a barrel.

Oil prices tumbled at the start of the week on optimism that a deal to reopen the strait could be imminent. But they reversed course yesterday as traders assessed that a deal on the strait between Iran and Oman — which has moved closer — was unlikely to satisfy Washington or to return navigation through the waterway to its pre-war state.

In addition, Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported that Iranian lawmakers had drafted a bill that would ban military or civilian cargo linked to countries judged to have inflicted damage on Iran from crossing the strait unless compensation was paid.

Fears that US and Israeli ships could be ultimately barred from the strait, further disrupting global trade, had caused oil prices to rise, according to Deutsche Bank analysts.

“While prohibition of US-owned vessels might have a negligible practical impact, the US has been resistant to an outcome that would fall short of free movement through Hormuz,” they wrote in a note.

Aida Karimi and Sophie Tanno contributed reporting

A flurry of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels over the last 24 hours have reportedly killed and wounded dozens – a major escalation in a region split between parties backed by Tehran and Washington.

One of Tehran’s strongest allies, the Houthis entered the Middle East conflict in March by firing missiles towards Israel. Today, the group is boldly engaging in exchanged strikes with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, and firing directly at an old foe that is backed by the United States – Saudi Arabia.

These attacks raise the threat of another outbreak of a full-scale civil war. The last war, which began in 2014, left Yemen facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

Iranian and Omani shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz will remain in use temporarily under an emerging agreement between the two countries before being replaced by a central route, Iran’s state-linked Fars news agency reported, citing an “informed source.”

Inbound traffic would be managed by Iran, while outbound traffic would be managed jointly by Iran and Oman, according to Fars.

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz after the United States and Israel attacked the country in February. Tehran later required vessels seeking passage to obtain its approval and sail close to the Iranian coast, while warning them against using a US-backed corridor on the Omani side. Iranian forces fired at several ships using that corridor, prompting Washington to resume strikes on Iran.

Washington, meanwhile, warned shipping companies that using the Iranian-controlled route could expose them to sanctions if they paid Iranian passage fees, provided sensitive vessel information or dealt with sanctioned entities.

If confirmed, the arrangement described by Fars would temporarily allow both the Iranian-controlled and US-backed Omani routes to operate, before traffic is redirected through a central lane.

It remains unclear whether Oman or the United States has agreed to the arrangement described by Fars.

Senior leadership from Pakistan and Turkey departed for Saudi Arabia this week, where they are expected to sign a trilateral defense deal as regional violence flares.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Army Chief Asim Munir and the Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar arrived in the coastal city of Jeddah on Thursday, according to a readout from the prime minister’s office.

The Pakistani delegation was “warmly welcomed” by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the readout said.

Saudi and Pakistani officials are expected to share “an exchange of views on further strengthening the longstanding fraternal relations and partnership” as well as “the situation in the region,” the readout added.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also left Friday for a one-day visit to Saudi Arabia, where he is expected to meet with MBS and the Pakistani prime minister, according to Turkey’s state media Anadolu Agency.

If signed, the defense pact will be a landmark deal among three nations that have all played a role in stalled diplomatic efforts to end hostilities between the US and Iran. It comes nearly a year after Islamabad and Riyadh formed a mutual defense pact in a move that strengthened a decades-long security partnership.

Regional conflagration: That same day, a Saudi official told CNN that Riyadh was bracing for “multiple coordinated attacks” by Iraqi militias and Iran-backed Houthis, adding that Gulf officials “will take all necessary measures to deal with any aggression.”

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis represent the country’s Shia Muslim minority, the Zaidis, and are formally known as Ansar Allah – “Partisans of God.”

They emerged as an armed group in the 1990s and fought a series of rebellions against Yemen’s central government over two decades.

After the Arab Spring in 2011, they seized a northern province and later the capital Sanaa, which they still hold, along with most of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. In the process they became part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” across the region, receiving weapons and missile technology.

Tehran has provided the group with sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, or drones), according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

After Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023, the Houthis launched missiles against Israel and began targeting shipping in the Red Sea. Israel responded with strikes on Houthi infrastructure and killed a number of senior Houthi officials.

Amid the US-Iran war, the militant group carried out coordinated attacks in the south of Saudi Arabia with Iraqi militias on Thursday, injuring 11 civilians, and two attacks were also reported near the Red Sea’s Bab al-Mandeb Strait this week. Although the Houthis did not claim responsibility for the attack, they have repeatedly threatened to disrupt shipping through the strait.

Saudi Arabia led a military coalition that intervened against the Houthis in Yemen in 2015 but failed to dislodge the group from the country’s north. The seven-year conflict helped create one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

CNN’s Lex Harvey, Nic Robertson, Hira Humayun and Mustafa Qadri contributed to this report.

Iranian lawmakers have drafted a bill to regulate traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including restrictions on certain vessels and penalties for violators, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency.

The bill, which is currently under review by the Iranian Parliament’s National Security Commission, is an initiative separate from talks with Oman on commercial shipping through the strait.

Under the original version of the bill, it stipulated that ships from the US, Israel and other countries Iran considers hostile would be barred from the waterway. The latest version encompasses a broader scope, stating that military or civilian cargo linked to Israeli vessels and other countries and entities deemed to have caused damage to Iran would also be barred from transiting until compensation is paid, Fars reported.

Violations of the restrictions will carry fines of up to 20% of the value of the vessel’s cargo, Fars added.

For vessels that are allowed to transit the strait, the Iranian government will charge navigation service fees, payable in Iranian currency, to cover the costs of safe navigation, it reported.

Remember: The effort to draft this bill was first announced in March by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency. The following month, a draft was released that targeted vessels from countries considered hostile to Iran, with the possibility of exemptions. The latest version of the bill expands the proposed restrictions to more vessels and also covers cargo.

CNN’s Hira Humayun contributed reporting.

Iran could become “emboldened” by reports of depleted US munitions stockpile, according to a CNN national security analyst on Friday.

The reports that the US military has used up nearly 80% of its interceptors for a key missile defense system could signal the US’s vulnerability to Tehran, said Alex Plitsas, who is also director of the counterterrorism program at the Atlantic Council.

Plitsas described the reports as “a politically motivated leak” and they put the US in a “very precarious situation at the moment.”

US President Donald Trump has pushed back on the reports, claiming the US has “massive amounts” of munitions but acknowledging some weapons supplies are “tighter.” He also said defense companies are “building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history.”

“But the problem is, that takes some time to build out,” said Plitsas. “And so in the short term, that still leaves a production capacity gap, and the need to backfill those munitions.”

There has been a “pattern of expanding aggression and hostility by the Iranians,” as Saudi Arabia braces for attacks by Iraqi militias factions and Iran-backed Houthis, Plitsas added.

“The message from the Iranians is clear… if you go after the Houthis in Yemen, we’re going to respond not only for Yemen, but you’re going to have a two-front war. You’re going to have to deal with the Iraqi militias,” he said.

“And I believe that emboldenment comes in part because they believe US stockpiles are low and they’ll have a hard time defending against that.”

Fighting in the Middle East continues, and according to US President Donald Trump, the United States has weapons to continue the war with Iran.

Trump claimed Thursday that the US has “massive amounts” of munitions, following reports from various media, including CNN, on the Pentagon’s depleted stockpile. However, he did acknowledge certain munitions are in “tighter” supply after months of the war.

The president also said Thursday he’s “extremely happy” with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, pushing back on reporting that he’s upset with him over munitions shortages.

Catch up on other headlines here:

CNN’s Aileen Graef, Jennifer Hansler, Aida Karimi, Hira Humayun, Alessandra Freitas, Avery Schmitz, Kevin Liptak and Nic Robertson contributed reporting.

Saudi Arabia is bracing for “multiple coordinated attacks” by Iraqi militias working with Iran-backed Houthis, a Saudi official told CNN, as the Middle East conflict threatens to continue to broaden in the region.

The official cited “multiple intelligence reports” from Saudi Arabia and regional countries that the Iraqi militias “in coordination with the Houthis” are planning to attack the Gulf nation “in the very near future” under the guidance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The official expressed alarm, saying that the reports come as Saudi Arabia is encouraging de-escalation, and when negotiations seem to be heading in the right direction.

“Saudi Arabia will take all necessary measures to deal with any aggression,” the official said.

News of the anticipated attacks comes ahead of a joint Turkish-Saudi-Pakistani summit in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, on Friday, where a joint defense agreement is expected to be declared, according to regional sources.

The reports of impending attacks come a day after Houthis claimed to attack a Saudi oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden, another key waterway. In the past few weeks Saudi Arabia has come under missile attacks from the Houthis in Yemen and drone attacks from pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

President Donald Trump claimed the United States has “massive amounts” of munitions, following reports from various media, including CNN, on the Pentagon’s depleted stockpile.

“Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history,” he added.

Trump later acknowledged certain munitions are in “tighter” supply after months of war with Iran, while insisting the US had other, less advanced types of weapons to continue fighting if necessary.

He also said replenishing weapons stocks is critical in case another conflict arises.

He said there are ample supplies of less advanced weapons as defense contractors ramp up production of Patriot missile interceptors and Tomahawk missiles.

“We have certain types of munitions which are very — they may not be as accurate,” he said. “They may not be, you know, they’re not as elite.”

“We have elite, too, but we’re watching that very closely,” he went on. “But we have certain types which are very powerful and very good, and we have an unlimited supply, and so we’re in great shape.”

“We have to have more. We have other things maybe come up, maybe come up, and maybe don’t come up,” he concluded. “Hopefully, nothing else does come up. But we’re in very good shape. We have literally massive amounts of ammunition.”

CNN previously reported that the US military had exhausted nearly 80% of its interceptors for its key THAAD missile defense system, and that senior US military commanders had warned that the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile is “dangerously low,” according to multiple sources.

Iran is finalizing a deal with Oman for the movement of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, but a deal between the two coastal nations does not mean the waterway will reopen, Tehran says.

Tehran says it requires a number of guarantees from the United States if vessels are to transit the strait freely.

In an interview with the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi spelled out Iran’s demands, saying the US must reverse actions it says violated previous commitments.

Asked if Iran is essentially implementing Article 5 of the June agreement, which committed Iran to using its “best efforts” to ensure safe commercial passage for 60 days, Gharibabadi said “No.”

“Article 5 only established guiding principles, not a final operational plan,” he said, adding that “the new Iran–Oman understanding is presented as an entirely new model reflecting today’s security environment rather than a continuation of the previous 60-year arrangement.”

This means that shipping routes through the strait will change, with a significant portion of commercial traffic transiting through Iranian territorial waters and the remainder through Omani waters, he said.

Gharibabadi said the arrangement reflects a new strategy for exercising “effective sovereignty” over the strait, while stressing that Iran does not intend to routinely close the waterway in peacetime.

Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator accused US President Donald Trump of “theater diplomacy” on Thursday as Washington and Tehran gave sharply conflicting accounts of whether talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz were taking place.

Ghalibaf’s comments were an apparent response to Trump, who has repeatedly said negotiations with Iran are underway, telling Fox News on Tuesday: “They had an all-day negotiation today, and it looks like things are very good.” Tehran has denied any US-Iran talks are taking place or planned, But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said mediators are working to de-escalate tensions and pass messages between the two sides.

Trump said over the weekend that he had called off what he described as the biggest US attack on another country since World War II because Iran wanted to negotiate. He has warned Tehran it would be hit “really hard” if a deal was not reached.

Over the last six months, President Trump has issued several severe threats against Iran, but he often dials them back, as negotiations drag on.

Ghalibaf said the United States’ use of “bullying,” broken promises and what he called fake news as leverage was a “failed strategy.”

“Acknowledge the facts and fulfill your commitments. We don’t need more theater,” he added.

Iran and Oman are close to finalizing a proposed framework for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, the agreement would not automatically reopen the waterway, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in an interview with the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The ongoing talks between Iran and Oman are critically important because they could lead to the full reopening of the world’s most critical energy chokepoint.

Here’s what the talks have covered:

CNN has reached out to the government of Oman for comment on the details shared by the Iranian official.

Gharibabadi said those conditions largely concerned the United States, which he accused of reinstating a naval blockade, resuming hostilities and reimposing sanctions. The US has said it resumed strikes after Iran fired on vessels transiting the strait.

On Wednesday, Gharibabadi denied that Iran is currently negotiating with the US over the Strait of Hormuz. He described discussions with Oman as strictly bilateral.