In a move that could reshape the security landscape of the Middle East and South Asia, Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan have signed a formal mutual defense pact, pledging that any attack on either country will be considered an attack on both. The agreement, signed in Riyadh on September 17, 2025, by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, comes at a time of mounting regional tensions and growing doubts among Gulf Arab states about the reliability of the United States as their security guarantor.
According to the Associated Press, the pact is the first firm defense decision made by a Gulf Arab nation since Israel’s dramatic strike on Qatar earlier in September, an attack that targeted Hamas political leaders as they met to discuss a U.S.-backed ceasefire. The event sent shockwaves through the region, prompting Arab and Islamic nations to convene an emergency summit and sparking widespread condemnation of Israel’s actions. The Saudi-Pakistan pact is widely seen as a direct signal to Israel, which has long been suspected of possessing nuclear weapons and has recently expanded its military operations across Iran, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen.
Both countries emphasized that the agreement is not a knee-jerk response to any particular event, but rather the institutionalization of a deep and historic partnership. As a senior Saudi official told Reuters, “This agreement is a culmination of years of discussions. This is not a response to specific countries or specific events but an institutionalization of longstanding and deep cooperation between our two countries.” The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described the pact as “comprehensive” and said it “encompasses all military means,” though stopped short of explicitly confirming whether Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal would be used to defend Saudi Arabia if necessary.
The joint statement, published by both the Saudi Press Agency and Pakistan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, declared: “Any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both.” The agreement aims to “develop aspects of defense cooperation between the two countries and strengthen joint deterrence against any aggression.” During their meeting in Riyadh, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also discussed ways to enhance their strategic partnership and exchanged views on regional and international developments, according to state media.
This new pact builds on a defense relationship that stretches back decades. Pakistani troops first traveled to Saudi Arabia in the late 1960s, initially to defend the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina amid regional conflicts. Since then, the partnership has deepened, with Pakistan training more than 8,200 Saudi armed forces personnel and conducting numerous joint military exercises. The relationship intensified after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, as the kingdom sought to hedge against potential confrontation with Tehran.
Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, which now boasts an estimated 170 warheads (compared to India’s 172, according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists), was originally developed to counter India. Saudi Arabia reportedly provided generous financial support for Islamabad’s nuclear effort, as detailed by retired Pakistani Brigadier General Feroz Hassan Khan in his book "Eating Grass: The Making of the Pakistani Bomb." While the exact terms of the new pact regarding nuclear weapons remain undisclosed, speculation has long swirled that Saudi Arabia could one day be included under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella, especially as Iran’s atomic ambitions remain a concern.
Iran’s involvement in the region has also played a role in the timing of the pact. Just before the agreement was signed, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, visited Saudi Arabia—a move interpreted by some analysts as an attempt by Riyadh to keep Tehran informed and perhaps avoid misunderstandings. Since 2023, Saudi Arabia and Iran have maintained a cautious détente, mediated by China, but the kingdom’s leaders have not been shy about their willingness to pursue nuclear weapons if Iran were to acquire them. While Saudi Arabia remains a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and is not known to have launched its own nuclear weapons program, it does have a domestic ballistic missile capability, which could theoretically serve as a delivery system for nuclear arms.
The defense pact has not gone unnoticed by other regional powers. India, which fought a brief war with Pakistan in May 2025, acknowledged the agreement on September 18, with the Ministry of External Affairs stating it would "study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability." Despite the deepening military ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Saudi officials have been keen to stress that their relationship with India remains "more robust than it has ever been," and that they will "continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace whichever way we can," as reported by Reuters.
The United States and Israel have yet to formally acknowledge the pact. For decades, the U.S. has underwritten the security of Gulf monarchies, maintaining major military bases in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. However, the recent Israeli attack on Qatar—reportedly approved in advance by the Trump administration, according to Middle East Eye and Axios—has rattled confidence in Washington’s willingness or ability to restrain Israeli military actions. Ted Singer, former head of Middle East operations for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, told Middle East Eye that the Israeli strike "could potentially have profound implications for how regional states view U.S. security guarantees."
Pakistan, for its part, remains the only Muslim-majority nation with nuclear weapons and has always maintained that its arsenal is for defensive purposes. Unlike India, Pakistan does not have a "no-first-use" doctrine, meaning it has not ruled out the preemptive use of nuclear weapons. Islamabad has also voiced strong condemnation of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Iran, and is wary of the precedent set by U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities—especially given Pakistan’s proximity to the region’s flashpoints.
Saudi Arabia’s decision to formalize its defense partnership with Pakistan is also a reflection of shifting global alliances. While the kingdom maintains close security ties with the U.S., it has grown increasingly assertive in pursuing its own strategic interests. Riyadh’s efforts to secure a U.S.-backed defense agreement and access to civilian nuclear technology were reportedly rebuffed, as Washington sought to condition such deals on Saudi normalization of relations with Israel. The new pact with Pakistan signals that Saudi Arabia is prepared to look elsewhere for security guarantees, even as it keeps channels open with both Washington and Beijing.
As the dust settles on this landmark agreement, one thing is clear: the balance of power in the Middle East and South Asia is shifting, and the traditional lines of alliance are being redrawn. With nuclear-armed Pakistan now formally committed to Saudi Arabia’s defense, and with regional tensions at a boiling point, the world will be watching closely to see how this new partnership shapes the future of the region.
