Iran has been watching pretty closely as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia tighten their security ties, and now it seems Tehran does not just want a seat at the table, it wants to turn that table into a much bigger one. The idea is to take the bilateral deal between Islamabad and Riyadh and expand it into a wider regional pact.
The timing matters. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia already have a long history of military cooperation, from training programs to intelligence sharing. Recently, both countries renewed their security commitments, with a sharper focus on counterterrorism and protecting critical energy assets. For Riyadh, dealing with cross-border threats like the Houthis and safeguarding oil infrastructure is a daily concern. For Pakistan, the partnership is both strategic and economic, giving its military a bigger regional role and providing financial backing it cannot ignore.
Iran, of course, has its own reasons for stepping in. Tehran knows that security in this part of the world does not stop at one border. Militancy, smuggling, piracy all of it spills over. If Pakistan and Saudi Arabia forge ahead without Iran, Tehran risks being boxed out of a security framework that could shape the balance of power across the Gulf and South Asia. By floating the idea of a regional pact, Iran is signaling it wants cooperation rather than isolation, or at least wants to be seen as pushing for it.
Would it actually work? That is trickier. In theory, a broader pact could help countries coordinate on shared threats, from terrorism to trafficking, and even on things like disaster response. It might also reduce the region’s reliance on outside players, namely the US or other global powers, for security guarantees. But anyone who has watched the Middle East for a while knows trust is in short supply. Despite recent attempts at mending ties, Saudi Arabia and Iran still view each other with deep suspicion, especially given Tehran’s role in places like Yemen and Syria. Pakistan, meanwhile, has always tried to walk a fine line between the two, avoiding the perception that it is picking sides.
If somehow this pact idea gained momentum, it could change the regional picture. It might create new space for dialogue and, at minimum, a practical way to manage common security headaches. If not, it will probably just end up as another unrealized proposal in a part of the world full of them.
What is clear is that Iran sees the writing on the wall that regional players are rethinking their alliances, and Tehran does not want to be left out. Whether Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are ready to widen their deal and bring Iran into the fold that is another question entirely.
