Maybe the governments of Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia realize this, or maybe they had something else in mind when they signed their historic mutual defense agreement last week.
Officials from Turkey and Pakistan traveled to Islam's holiest city, Mecca, on Islam's weekly day of communal prayer for the signing ceremony and announcement of the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement.
The core provision says that an armed attack against any one of the three nations will be regarded as an attack against all three.
The leaders say the agreement is intended to strengthen deterrence and defense cooperation among the three countries.
But what does it mean for Israel, the Jewish state opposed by virtually all of its neighbors in the Middle East?
The governments have not formally said that the pact is directed against a particular country, whether Iran or any other state; the agreement is being presented as defensive and as a way for regional countries to become more capable of handling their own security.
Each of the three countries brings different strengths to the new arrangement.
Saudi Arabia has enormous financial resources, a major military budget and is strategically important because of its location not far from Israel and just across the Persian Gulf from Iran.
Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has significant military power.
Pakistan, which has been a key player in U.S.-Iran negotiations, is a nuclear-armed state.
"Who's the enemy here? Who's the opponent?" Peter Doran of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said on "Washington Watch" Friday.
"When we created NATO in 1949, there was a big red arrow pointed from the communist bloc towards Western Europe," he noted. "Everyone knew who the opponent was."
"All three of these countries—Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey—they have different opponents."
There is an important distinction in that regard: the agreement does not automatically mean that the other two countries will immediately send troops whenever one is attacked. The response would depend on the circumstances and on decisions made under the pact.
That is similar to the way NATO Article 5 works: Article 5 does not literally require every member to declare war or send combat troops.
Assets from the three countries leave their combined strength as less than NATO but notable nonetheless, Doran told show host Jody Hice.
The only country of the three that has been attacked during the current regional instability is Saudi Arabia, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) launched drones and missiles at civilian targets and oil infrastructure.
"There's clearly a signaling mechanism going on here," Doran said. "The Saudis want the IRGC and Iran to understand we have friends; they are powerful. Don't hit us again."
Another signal is that the perception of a security vacuum in the Middle East exists and has been brought about by perceived American weakness in the region, Doran said.
The emergence of the alliance should not concern Israel.
"This is a defensive alliance on paper and I believe in practice," Doran said.
"Some of these countries have not been the greatest friends to Israel, but I don't see them lining up to attack Israel. What we're really seeing here is that the opponent is Iran for Saudi Arabia, and Turkey and Pakistan are attempting to join hands with the Saudis in order to show that they have regional weight and power. But Israel, for now, is not the target of this alignment."
