Syria is considering joining a regional defense alliance with Saudi Arabia, its foreign minister said on Saturday, raising the prospect that Damascus could become involved in the kingdom’s widening conflict with the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.

Asaad al-Shaibani, the Syrian foreign minister, told the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain that “discussions are currently underway to evaluate Syria’s entry into the Mecca alliance,” referring to a mutual-defense pact signed in August by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan.

Under the terms of the pact, known as the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement, an armed attack on any of its three members would be considered an attack on all, mirroring NATO’s collective-defense principle. The countries agreed this month to prepare for the rapid deployment of military forces to Saudi Arabia as the Houthis have intensified their attacks on the kingdom.