ANKARA — Growing rivalry with Israel and mounting regional volatility, sharpened by the Iran-US war and wider conflicts across the Middle East, have pushed Turkey toward a deeper strategic alignment with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. But the new three-way defense pact also carries risks for Ankara, including the possibility of becoming entangled in crises involving its partners and concerns that the arrangement could harden perceptions of an emerging regional bloc and complicate Turkey’s NATO commitments.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman met in the holy Muslim city of Mecca on Aug. 7 and announced the new pact. The declaration “stipulates that any armed attack against any one of the three states shall be regarded as an attack against them all,” echoing the Article 5 collective-defense clause of the NATO treaty. The NATO clause commits each ally to assist the country under attack, but does not automatically require every member to deploy troops or enter the conflict. Instead, each NATO state determines what action it considers necessary, which can include the use of armed force.

By combining Ankara’s advanced defense-industrial capabilities, particularly in drones, missiles and electronic warfare, with Islamabad’s nuclear deterrent, large standing military and ballistic-missile capabilities, and Riyadh’s financial resources and capacity to fund major defense procurement and investment, the three countries are seeking to strengthen their collective deterrence in an increasingly volatile region.

Speaking at a press briefing in Ankara on Thursday, Turkish Defense Ministry spokesperson Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk described one of the main objectives of the agreement as “to enhance military cooperation among our countries and strengthen their ability to act jointly in the face of potential crises.”