A new defence agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan has reopened tensions between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, with prominent Emirati and Saudi voices publicly clashing over the kingdom’s decision to pursue a new regional security partnership beyond the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The “Mecca Joint Defence Agreement”, signed on 7 August, commits the three nations to treating an armed attack against one as an attack against all.
The agreement has sparked fierce criticism from some prominent Emirati commentators who have questioned whether Riyadh is moving towards a regional security framework beyond the GCC.
The GCC is a regional bloc comprising the energy-rich monarchies of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a political analyst and former aide to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, has been at the fore of the criticism, repeatedly questioning the logic of the new agreement.
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“Congratulations on the establishment of this alliance, but strengthening Gulf military and political cooperation and unifying the Gulf house is far more important than investing in regional military and political cooperation that includes countries whose credibility and ability to confront the Iranian-Israeli threat are not taken seriously,” Abdulla wrote in one of several posts on the matter.
“One of the conditions for the success of any alliance is identifying the common enemy. So who is the enemy for the countries of this alliance?”
مبروك تأسيس هذا الحلف لكن تقوية التعاون العسكري والسياسي الخليجي وتوحيد البيت الخليجي اهم بكثير من الاستثمار في تعاون عسكري وسياسي اقليمي يضم دول لا يعتد بمصداقيتها وقدرتها على مواجهة الخطر الإيراني الإسرائيلي. من شروط نجاح اي حلف تحديد العدو المشترك. فمن هو العدو لدول هذا الحلف pic.twitter.com/6ifLbxvgFF
— Abdulkhaleq Abdulla (@Abdulkhaleq_UAE) August 7, 2026
The post drew a swift rebuttal from Saudi Prince Abdulrahman bin Musaid, who said the agreement is a matter of national sovereignty and questioned why the UAE’s academic circle seemed uniquely bothered by Riyadh’s strategic choices.
“What is the problem, Doctor, if it is an alliance, a treaty, an agreement, or under any title?” the prince wrote on X.
“How can this conflict with unifying the Gulf house? Is it not the right of any state to make agreements with any state or states according to what it sees as achieving its interests?”
Fahad al-Arabi al-Harthi, chairman of the Asbar Centre for Studies and Research, also pushed back, stating that the Mecca agreement was not an “alliance” aimed at anyone, since it was not built around identifying a common enemy, but around “building a collective capacity for deterrence and defence, and protecting security and stability in the face of any threat from any side”.
Other Saudi social media users were less diplomatic, with one commenter asking whether the UAE had informed the Gulf states before establishing its own ties with Israel, referring to the 2020 Abraham Accords. “I wonder, did the UAE inform and notify the Gulf states before its alliance with the Zionist entity?”
As the debate intensified, Abdulla took his rhetoric a step further, posting a message that many interpreted as a direct rejection of pan-Islamic or trilateral alliances in favour of pure national interest.
“He whose sect is more important than his homeland, there is no safety for him… He whose nation, Arab or Islamic, is more important than his homeland, there is no safety for him,” Abdulla posted.
“Belonging, loyalty, and sincerity are for the homeland alone, with no partner.”
Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri, former head of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Isesco), replied to the tweet by hinting at the UAE’s ties with Israel, stating: “Anyone who betrays and collaborates with the Zionists will never find security.”
ومن يغدر ويركِن إلى الصهاينة لا أمان له. https://t.co/7C5bROvDZs
— عبدالعزيز بن عثمان التويجري (@AOAltwaijri) August 10, 2026
Al-Tuwaijri, in another tweet, also pointed to the UAE’s own security partnerships, asking why its defence treaty with India and its broad cooperation with Israel were acceptable while a Saudi-led agreement with Turkey and Pakistan was being questioned.
He ended the post with the Arabic saying “those who have shame are dead”, a pointed expression suggesting that those criticising the agreement lacked the moral standing to do so.
