Pakistan's defense minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said his nation's nuclear weapons capabilities "will be made available" to Saudi Arabia under their new pact.

The mutual defense deal signed Wednesday declares that an attack on one nation would be an attack on both.

Its nuclear dimension raises the risk of a nuclear war in the Middle East at a time when the region is rocked by instability and conflict spanning Israel, Gaza, Iran, Lebanon, and Syria in particular.

Israel is currently the only Middle Eastern state with its own arsenal of nuclear weapons, though it does not formally acknowledge so for strategic reasons.

The nuclear move is seen by analysts as a signal to Israel.

It comes after Israel's attack targeting Hamas leaders in Qatar last week killed six people and sparked new

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