Iran
'Islamic NATO': Why is there renewed debate about the Arab-Muslim military alliance ? Amid reports that the US is increasing its military presence in preparation for a possible attack on Iran ,the issue of forming an Arab-Islamic political and military alliance has come back into the spotlight. The idea of a Muslim alliance was first proposed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in September 2024. At the time, he called for Muslim countries to unite against the ‘growing threat of expansion’ posed by Israel. In September 2025,the Pakistani defense minister also spoke about establishing an ‘Islamic NATO’. The idea of forming an ‘Islamic NATO’ has gained momentum since the signing of a security agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on September 17 last year. Following Erdogan’s recent visits to Saudi Arabia and Egypt , the ‘Islamic NATO’ proposal is being discussed again in Arab media. There is speculation that a grand alliance could be formed that would include...