LONDON, 09 May. - (ANA) - Since the recent conflict in Iran, a new geopolitical bloc involving Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye has been forming in the Middle East. While not formalised, the four states are poised to tackle shared security concerns together, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

 

A group of four regional powers – Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye – are closing ranks at a time when the Middle East’s security landscape is being transformed beyond recognition. The new Middle Eastern quadrilateral appears to be an attempt to counterbalance Israel’s designs to ‘redraw’ the map of the Middle East and to address shared security concerns, most notably the United States–Israeli war with Iran. Although the bloc is unlikely to evolve into a defence alliance, it could nevertheless crystallise into a concert of powers that plays a significant role in managing shared security concerns.

 

The first meeting of the foreign ministers of Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye took place on 19 March 2026 in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The meeting was held on the sidelines of a wider consultative gathering of the foreign ministers of Arab and Islamic countries that condemned Iran’s attacks on the Arab Gulf states. Two subsequent meetings between the four countries’ foreign ministers were held on 29 March in Islamabad, Pakistan and 18 April in Antalya, Türkiye. During both meetings, the ministers expressed support for Pakistan’s mediation effort between the US and Iran. The quadrilateral also held a meeting of senior officials at deputy foreign ministers level in Islamabad ahead of the group’s third ministerial meeting in Antalya, indicating a desire to build a more institutionalised consultative mechanism.  

 

 

Shared geopolitical concerns

 

 

Ostensibly, the quadrilateral was convened to address the fallout from the US/Israel–Iran war and support Pakistan’s mediation efforts. All four countries have an economic and security interest in preventing further escalation and ending the war quickly. Interrupted supplies of Gulf energy and fertilisers due to the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have sent ripples through the world economy, with import-dependent countries such as Egypt, Pakistan and Türkiye among the most affected. From a security standpoint, both Saudi Arabia and Türkiye were attacked by Iran. Pakistan and Türkiye fear instability spilling over their lengthy borders with Iran.

 

Türkiye also worries that the arming of Kurdish Iranian militias by the US or Israel to take on the Islamic Republic, an idea floated during the war but seemingly since abandoned, could threaten the fragile peace it has forged with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Activating ethnic insurgencies or attempting to fragment Iran also risks inflaming separatism in Balochistan, a restive, shared-border region between Pakistan and Iran.

 

The group also shares growing anxieties over Israel’s aggressive military posture and territorial expansionism.    - (ANA) - 

 

AB/ANA/09 May 2026 - - -