Pakistan has clearly indicated that due to its defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, it may be dragged into the rapidly escalating Iran war. Saudi Arabia has been the target of missile and drone attacks by Iran. According to a report in the Financial Times, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has warned his Iranian counterpart not to attack Saudi Arabia. “I have explained to Iran that we have a defense agreement with Iran,” Dar said. This is the first time that a senior Pakistani official has clearly said that this defense agreement can be activated in the Iran war.
“Saudi Arabia has faced fewer attacks than other countries.”
Note that last week the US and Israel attacked Iran. Subsequently, Iran attacked US military bases, embassies and vital energy centers, prompting many countries to join the fight. Dar stressed that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia security agreement protected Riyadh and prevented any major attacks there. “Saudi Arabia has had the least number of attacks compared to any other country,” he said. Dar also said Iran has sought guarantees from Islamabad that Saudi soil will not be used for attacks against Iran.
Saudi-Pakistan agreement like NATO
This agreement signed last year between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan works like NATO. An attack on one is considered an attack on the other. This marked a new beginning in security cooperation between the two Muslim countries after years of strained relations. Meanwhile, Iran fired missiles at Israel on Thursday morning, marking the sixth consecutive day of airstrikes in the region. Earlier, a US submarine had sunk an Iranian warship, in response to which Iran had threatened to destroy military and economic targets across the region.
Israel attacks Hezbollah targets
Israel launched missiles at Iran at the same time as Iran launched new attacks in Lebanon. The attacks were carried out targeting Hezbollah positions in southern Beirut as part of a joint operation against Iran-backed groups. Meanwhile, the US and Israel continued heavy bombing on Iranian military units and major power centers on Wednesday. The attacks on Iran have become so intense that state TV postponed a memorial service for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the war. It is currently believed that this Middle East war may last for several weeks.