Will Pakistan join active war against Iran and help its defence partner Saudi Arabia. Photo: Gemini.
Pakistan has publicly condemned Iran’s retaliatory drone and missile strikes on Saudi Arabia and its key oil refinery sites, describing it as a “dangerous escalation” while reaffirming “full solidarity” with Riyadh and the Gulf states.
Iran attacked several Gulf countries inlcuding Saudi Arabi after the killing of its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
As the war between Iran and Gulf partners escalates, the question observers are asking is whether Pakistan will actively join the war against Iran and defend Saudi Arabia under the 2025 Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement with Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he personally reached out to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to convey Pakistan’s position.
In a post on X, Sharif wrote, “This evening, I spoke with my dear brother, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to express Pakistan’s strong condemnation of the dangerous regional escalation that followed the Israeli attack on Iran and the subsequent strikes in the Gulf region.”
He added that Pakistan stands, “in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the sisterly Gulf states during this difficult time.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formalised the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) in September 2025. The pact treats aggression against one country as an attack on both, building on decades of military cooperation between the two nations.
The agreement includes a collective defence clause but primarily emphasises conventional military cooperation, such as joint exercises, intelligence sharing, and drone collaboration, without any explicit nuclear commitments.
Referring to the defence pact, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said, “We have a strategic mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia. Everyone knows about that, it is a sovereign agreement and we are bound by that. In view of that I while in Saudi Arabia immediately sensitised the leadership of Iran that they should keep that in mind.”
Despite the defence pact, experts suggest the agreement is more political and strategic in nature rather than a classical military alliance comparable to NATO.
Observers caution that deploying forces could drag Pakistan into a multi-front conflict. Such a move, they argue, could strain the country’s economy and expose vulnerabilities amid ongoing domestic challenges.
When asked whether Saudi Arabia could expect Pakistan to fight Iran under the defence pact, Pakistan Senator Rana Sanaullah gave a contrasting response, “Saudi Arabia is the land of the holy sites and we can sacrifice our lives to defend it as all Muslims are.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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