Israeli reports on the reasons behind Egypt's refusal to join the tripartite "Mecca Agreement" defense pact claimed that Israel exerted intense pressure behind the scenes to obstruct this regional move.
The Israeli news platform Natsiv Net reported that news reports published this August revealed Egypt's refusal to officially join the "Mecca Agreement" defense pact, signed by Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, despite its participation in the preliminary "R4" forum that included the four countries.
The Hebrew-language platform added that sources in Ankara and Cairo cited several key reasons for this decision, primarily Cairo's desire to balance its relations with the UAE-India axis. Egypt maintains deep defense and economic ties with Abu Dhabi, a close ally of New Delhi, and joining an alliance with Pakistan, India's arch-rival, would have forced it to choose sides. Furthermore, Egypt feared the agreement would transform into a rigid political alliance led by a Saudi-Turkish axis.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has officially pointed out that Egypt is a "natural partner" and that the lack of immediate accession is due to purely technical reasons, and that the door is open for its accession in the future.
In the Israeli context, official Turkish sources confirmed that Cairo refused to join primarily to avoid intense Israeli pressure and to avoid harming its sensitive relations with Tel Aviv, amid deep Israeli concern about this alliance, which Israeli officials described as "very bad for Israel."
Despite the strategic tension, there is no official evidence of Israel threatening to halt gas supplies to Egypt. Ankara sources described this as Israeli "diplomatic bullying" attempts to prevent the formation of the axis.
Regarding the American position, while Washington encourages its allies to shoulder a greater security burden, it is working behind the scenes to prevent the alliance from transforming into an anti-Israel axis. This has indirectly influenced Cairo's caution in avoiding antagonizing the US administration, which provides it with significant military and economic support.
The Hebrew platform noted that the Egyptian decision keeps the "Mecca Agreement" confined to the Turkey-Saudi-Pakistan triangle, reflecting Cairo's refusal to join a rigid "Sunni axis." This allows Cairo to maintain its political maneuvering room, as it continues informal cooperation with these countries on regional de-escalation efforts, but rejects any actual military commitment that could complicate its relations with its allies in the West, the Gulf, and Israel.
This development comes amidst rapid geopolitical shifts in the Middle East, where Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan are seeking to strengthen their security and defense cooperation in the face of escalating regional tensions.
Egypt, with its strategic and military weight, is a key element in any regional security equation, making its balanced position between engaging in new alliances and maintaining its traditional relations with the West and the Gulf a focus of analysts’ attention, especially in light of the complexities associated with energy and Arab national security issues.
