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The trip will be Erdogan’s second visit to the kingdom this year and the first since the outbreak of the US-Israel war on Iran, as the two countries deepen ties.

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Here’s what you need to know.

What’s on the table?

Erdogan is expected to hold a trilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who arrived in the kingdom on Thursday for a three-day visit alongside Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Turkish presidential communications director Burhanettin Duran said the trip would focus on “bilateral relations and regional developments” without detailing a formal agenda.

“During the visit, it is envisaged that President Erdogan will meet with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as well as with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan,” Duran said.

Regional media reported that talks will centre on maritime security, the fallout from the US-Israel war on Iran and defence cooperation, but Ankara has been notably tight-lipped about specifics.

A defence pact in the making?

The visit comes as multiple news outlets report that the three countries may sign a formal alliance.

A source close to the Saudi military told the AFP news agency that the three leaders are set to sign a joint defence agreement in Jeddah on Friday, while a Turkish intelligence source said the pact’s foundational terms had already been agreed to among the three sides.

If confirmed, such an agreement would likely extend the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed in September 2025, which treats an attack on one as an attack on both, into a three-way framework with Turkiye.

None of this has been confirmed publicly by any of the three governments, and it remains possible the visit brings a more modest joint statement instead.

Why now?

Erdogan’s last visit to Riyadh in February had brought similar talk of a Turkish-Saudi axis, but such an alliance was not formalised.

The timing of Friday’s visit is no less significant. It comes a week after Saudi Arabia unveiled a multinational maritime security initiative to protect shipping through the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. The coalition has already been backed by 14 countries, including Turkiye and Pakistan.

The visit also follows months of upheaval in the Strait of Hormuz, caused by the US and Israel’s war on Iran, in which Islamabad has positioned itself as the go-to mediator.

Iran has retaliated against US and Israeli attacks by launching missiles and drones at military bases that host American troops across the region, including in Gulf states. Iran has also targeted hotels and energy sites in the region.

Separately, the kingdom has been dealing with heightened tensions with the Houthis in Yemen. The two sides have been trading attacks over the past weeks. And the Yemeni group has been targeting Saudi ships in the Red Sea.

What happened the last time Erdogan visited?

After the February trip, Ankara and Riyadh released a joint statement pledging to enhance economic, energy and security cooperation.

“They affirmed their desire to strengthen and develop their defence relations in a way that serves the interests of both countries and contributes to achieving security and stability in the region, including through multilateral cooperation platforms,” the statement said.

They also expressed alignment on support for the “ceasefire” in Gaza and the internationally recognised government in Yemen, while rejecting Israel’s recognition of the breakaway region of Somaliland in Somalia.

“Regarding the Somali issue, both sides affirmed their unwavering support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of the Federal Republic of Somalia, and their commitment to preserving Somalia’s stability and the prosperity and development of its people,” they said. %!s()

In a video shared to Instagram on Thursday, the Oscar-nominated actress said that she and her friend, Ben, were traveling on a country road when their car was struck by another vehicle that failed to stop at an intersection. “We somehow walked out it… Well, we didn’t walk out of it, we crawled out of it, but we did get out of it alive,” she said, adding that the crash was “not our fault.”

Driver continued, “I’ve got a sprained neck, and I’m really in shock and sort of cry all the time, but I’m going to heal.” The actress credited the “tiny Kia EV2” they were driving as “the reason that I’m not dead,” and said the car’s “360-degree airbags” saved their lives. She joked, “This is categorically not a car ad.”

“I want to celebrate that car. I’m Minnie Driver, pun intended, I need to celebrate the car that saved us,” Driver said. “Because we’ve got families and people who love us and I am so grateful to be alive, so, Kia, you are a baller car company. You’re amazing.” 

In the clip’s caption, Driver recalled more details about the collision: “Shout out to the van driver who stopped and helped us before the ambulances arrived. Special mention to the car who slowed down took in the scene and drove off without stopping. I guess this is the Dao of the world, the light and the dark.”

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Her message continued, “My brain keeps replaying the crash, which is very hard, but seems to be a necessary part of processing. Weeping, too, feels good and helpful.”

Driver, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress after co-starring in 1997’s Good Will Hunting, recently appeared in Netflix thriller, Run Away, and in the fifth season of the hit show, Emily in Paris. %!s()

Ogles’s loss on Thursday to Charlie Hatcher, the state’s former agricultural commissioner, represents a rare incident in which Trump’s endorsement failed to deliver in a Republican race.

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Hatcher has also represented himself as pro-Trump, but the US president heaped praise on Ogles earlier on Thursday, giving the incumbent his “complete and total endorsement”.

With nearly 90 percent of the votes counted, Hatcher had a 6.6-point lead over Ogles.

The congressman, who was first elected in 2022, was running in a redrawn district after Republicans had changed the electoral map in the state to help the party retain its majority in the US House of Representatives.

Hatcher will face Chaz Molder, the Democratic mayor of Columbia – a city south of Nashville – in November.

The Republican nominee received a late endorsement from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

The district favours Republicans, but Democrats are trying to capitalise on the discontent with the economy and the war on Iran to flip seats across the country.

Ogles – a staunch Israel supporter – has faced outrage and condemnation from across the political spectrum for his comments against the Muslim community.

“Muslims don’t belong in American society. Pluralism is a lie,” he wrote on X in March.

In 2024, when an activist asked Ogles on Capitol Hill if he had seen footage of Palestinian children killed by US-funded bombs, he said: “You know what? I think we should kill them all, if that makes you feel better.”

Ogles paused, then added, ‘Everybody in Hamas.”

Hatcher previously rejected Ogles’s anti-Muslim rhetoric.

“There’s Muslims that are American citizens, that are good, law-abiding people, and there’s soldiers in the US Army that are good warriors, so absolutely,” he told the Williamson Scene, a local publication in June.

Ogles is the second Trump-endorsed candidate to lose a primary this week.

On Tuesday, Amir Hassan, a Navy veteran in Michigan who was supported by the president, lost to Thomas Smith, a candidate who had suspended his campaign before the election.

The midterm election season in the US is in full swing. Both parties are choosing their candidates through primaries, state by state. All 435 US House seats and 35 out of 100 Senate seats will be up for grabs in November. %!s()