Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a NATO-style mutual defense agreement in Mecca on Friday, amid tensions from the ongoing war with Iran moving closer to Saudi Arabia. Under the pact, an attack on any one of the three countries will be treated as an attack on all. The agreement raises the possibility that Turkey and Pakistan could become involved if Saudi Arabia faces a major attack.

The stated aim is to strengthen collective deterrence and deepen defense cooperation among the three countries. For Saudi Arabia, the agreement is described as creating a new, strong defense structure alongside its longstanding security reliance on the United States. The report identifies Turkey as NATO’s second-largest military power and Pakistan as the Muslim world’s only nuclear-armed power.

All three countries said the agreement is not a military alliance against any specific country or an effort to create religious divisions, and it leaves room for other countries to join in the future. Iran expressed dissatisfaction, with Iranian parliamentarian Ebrahim Rezaei saying a paper agreement with Turkey and Pakistan would not provide Saudi Arabia security. Analysts said the pact sends Iran a clear warning about a wider conflict.