Tehran sees the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye as a sign of a changing perception among regional states, stressing that they have realized that security and stability cannot be achieved through relying on trans-regional powers.

Axar.az reports, citing Fars News Agency, that Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baqaei made the remarks on Monday.

Asked by a journalist whether the defense agreement between Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan was “an Islamic NATO,” Baqaei said, “We do not need any outside powers to intervene in our region.”

“The tension [in the region] is still there … but in cooperation with the countries of the region, we hope all countries learn the lesson to study the developments of the recent years well and to work hard to strengthen the collective security of our region,” he added.

The trilateral deal could be viewed as an indication of a shift in the way countries in the region perceive security, he continued.