New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday dismissed as 'fake news' reports claiming that India had sought a defence pact with Israel in response to the newly formed Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkey security framework.
The claim originated from Turkish media outlet Straturka before gaining traction on social media platforms. Quoting unnamed Pakistani sources, the report alleged that New Delhi had initiated discussions with Tel Aviv for a defence pact to counter the trilateral alliance.
Rejecting the claim, the MEA's Fact Check unit shared a screenshot of the report and labelled it 'fake news'.
"We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms which use AI to create fake content!" the MEA Fact Check wing said in a post on X.
Fake Alert!!! 🚨🚨🚨
— MEA FactCheck (@MEAFactCheck) August 7, 2026
We caution against such malicious posts on social media platforms which use AI to create fake content! pic.twitter.com/Zor218yW0J
The clarification comes after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey signed the "Mecca Joint Defence Agreement", a pact aimed at strengthening military cooperation and collective security among the three countries.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said the agreement seeks to reinforce collective deterrence, stating that "any armed attack against any one of the three States shall be regarded as an attack against them all." The framework also provides for enhanced defence cooperation across multiple domains.
Commenting on the trilateral agreement earlier on Friday, the MEA said New Delhi is closely monitoring the development.
Addressing a weekly media briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "This is also a development that we are closely following, and we shall keep you updated."
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a telephone conversation on Thursday, during which they discussed ways to further strengthen the India-Israel Special Strategic Partnership and reviewed bilateral cooperation across a range of sectors.
During Friday's media briefing, Jaiswal clarified that the call had been initiated by the Israeli side.
"During the conversation, it was discussed as to how we can further strengthen this bond, this friendship that we have with Israel across various sectors," Jaiswal said, underscoring the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.
