Top Iranian military official wants Tehran to join Pak-Saudi defence pact

Senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi has called for Tehran to join the defence pact agreed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

"Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iraq can reach a collective defence pact," said Iranian Revolutionary Guard's (IRGC) General Safavi, reported Iran International.

The senior Iranian official's remarks refer to the "Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement" inked between Islamabad and Riyadh — marking a key milestone in strengthening a decades-old security partnership, pledging that any attack on either nation would be treated as an act of aggression against both.

The deal was signed by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Riyadh, a week after Israel's strikes on Qatar upended the diplomatic calculus in the region.

After the landmark defence agreement was signed, several international media outlets speculated that Pakistan's nuclear programme had been made part of the pact — a claim that quickly drew attention and fuelled debate.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, an interview with journalist Mehdi Hasan for Zeteo, has clarified that Pakistan is not selling nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia under the defence pact.

The defence minister's clarification came against the backdrop of experts terming the SMDA as a "historic and unprecedented development", elevating bilateral ties into a formal security commitment. They noted that while Pakistan has previously joined various defence pacts, this accord stands out for its binding clause that treats any aggression against either country as an attack on both.

The move, they argued, not only strengthens Pakistan–Saudi relations but also carries wider significance for South Asia and the Islamic world, positioning Pakistan as the most capable Muslim power to safeguard regional stability.

Expanding on the defence pact, Iran's Gen Safavi, who is a close aide of the supreme leader, termed it as a positive development, and added that the United States' influence in the region was decreasing as it was now shifting its focus to the Asia-Pacific region.

In this situation, we can establish a regional Islamic alliance, he remarked.