Washington, Aug 29 — While Pakistan seeks to position itself as a mediator in the US-Iran conflict, its parallel defence commitments to Gulf Arab monarchies have fuelled Tehran’s suspicions about Islamabad, a report has stated.
It noted that Pakistan’s expanding agreements with Gulf states — including its pact with Saudi Arabia and a pending agreement with Kuwait — have reinforced Tehran’s view that Islamabad is tilting towards US and Saudi security frameworks, further eroding trust.
Writing for American media outlet ‘PJ Media’, Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut questioned: “How efficient can Pakistan be as a mediator between Tehran, Washington, and Islamabad when it is attempting to play all sides while simultaneously losing the trust of all?”
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in Mecca on August 7, pledging to strengthen collective deterrence against acts of aggression. The agreement stipulates that an armed attack against any one of the signatories would be regarded as an attack against all three.
Two days later, the Iranian-backed Houthis struck an oil facility on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, with the coalition yet to respond to the attack, Bulut mentioned.
Despite entering into a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia last year, she said, Pakistan has refrained from any military response to Iranian attacks on the kingdom.
Bulut noted that Islamabad has rejected suggestions that its nuclear deterrent could be extended to its allies, clarifying that the pact does not include nuclear weapons.
According to the report, Iran-Pakistan relations have been strained for decades amid cross-border militant strikes and shifting regional alliances.
“Pragmatic cooperation despite divergent strategic orientations traditionally characterises their relationship. Though both maintain robust trade links, periodic frictions have arisen over Pakistan's close defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia; Tehran's suspicion of Islamabad's alignment with US-led coalitions in Afghanistan and Iraq, and mutual allegations of providing space for cross-border activities of terrorist groups such as Jaish ul-Adl and Baloch militant organisations,” the report mentioned.
“Persistent mistrust between Iran and Pakistan causes frequent cross-border security friction, proxy competition, and diplomatic tightropes,” it added.
The report further highlighted that Pakistan’s “near-bankrupt” economy could collapse without continued international bailouts. The country is heavily dependent on energy imports, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states meeting more than 85 per cent of its oil requirements and almost all of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) needs.
With Islamabad projecting itself as a potential mediator for the ongoing Iran-US conflict, the report said, “Tehran's current narrative casts Pakistan as complicit in external aggression, limiting Islamabad's credibility as an impartial broker.”