The signing of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Türkiye on August 7 is a significant development. The pact is the first formal regional security agreement to be formed as a direct result of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. The emergence of a formal defense pact among key regional players that excludes the U.S. is may chip away at Washington’s leverage in the region. For instance, the Mecca Pact stipulates that an attack on one country will be regarded as an attack upon all. This, in the long run, could help diminish the monopoly the Americans long exercised over West Asia’s regional security dynamics and their core interests.