The conflict in West Asia involving Iran, Israel and the United States is only widening at the moment.
Among the countries most closely watching developments is Pakistan — a nuclear-armed state with deep strategic and religious ties across the Gulf and a newly formalised defence pact with Saudi Arabia.
Why Pakistan could enter the Iran war
In September 2025, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia formalised a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) that states any attack on one party will be regarded as an attack on the other.
The pact
establishes a framework for coordinated defensive responses, though it does not publicly detail operational mechanisms.
The relevance of this agreement came into sharp focus on Tuesday when Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar addressed reporters regarding recent communications with Tehran, reported The Financial Times.
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Recalling a conversation with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Dar stated, “I made them understand that we have a defence agreement.”
This marked the first time a senior Pakistani official publicly linked the defence pact to the unfolding Iran war. In parliamentary remarks earlier, he had also referenced the agreement, making his comments the earliest formal acknowledgment from Islamabad that the SMDA could be relevant in the current conflict.
Dar indicated that the existence of the pact had influenced developments on the ground. He said it had helped keep “missile or drone attacks [against Saudi] to a minimum”, compared with neighbouring Gulf states.
According to Dar, Iran sought “assurances” that Saudi territory would not be used to launch operations against it.
The defence pact itself specifies that aggression against either state would be treated as aggression against both, although neither government has formally invoked it so far.
Which brings into the fact that Pakistan is a nuclear-armed state, and analysts have questioned whether the agreement implicitly extends nuclear protection to Saudi Arabia.
While Islamabad has not confirmed any such arrangement, the possibility has raised alarms among arms control advocates.
A report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons cited analysts at Chatham House who warned that the pact “sets a precedent for extended deterrence” by a nuclear-armed state outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework.
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How Saudi drone strikes by Iran brought up the question
The diplomatic exchanges occurred against
a backdrop of direct strikes on Saudi territory. Iranian drones damaged the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday, the same day Dar made his remarks.
The embassy later issued warnings of imminent missile and drone attacks targeting Dhahran, a key energy hub and the location of oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Additionally, a drone
struck the major refinery complex at Ras Tanura on Monday. These incidents heightened alarm across the Gulf and placed the Saudi leadership under increased pressure.
Saudi authorities responded with a statement warning that any recurrence of Iran’s “flagrant behaviour” would drive further escalation. The kingdom emphasised its sovereign right to defend its territory and citizens.
According to the Saudi state news agency, “The kingdom reiterated its full right to take all necessary measures to protect its security, territorial integrity, citizens, residents and vital interests, including the option of responding to the aggression.”
Saudi Arabia had initially attempted to remain outside the conflict. Before the United States and Israel commenced bombardments against Iran, Riyadh had stated that it would not allow its territory to be used for strikes against the Islamic republic.
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However, the drone damage to the US embassy altered the strategic equation, prompting sharper warnings from the kingdom.
In a telephone conversation with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed solidarity, saying “Pakistan stands in full solidarity with Saudi Arabia.” The defence pact was not explicitly referenced in that call.
A Pakistani citizen was also reportedly killed in Abu Dhabi, UAE after an Iranian missile strike.
How is Islamabad reacting to the war in West Asia
While Pakistan condemned
the killing of Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and criticised regional escalation, it refrained from directly blaming the United States or President Donald Trump. This restraint is notable given that Islamabad has nominated Trump time and again for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In contrast, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif delivered sharply worded remarks on social media. He stated, “From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every catastrophe that has befallen the Islamic world, every war imposed upo