Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s senior advisor Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi has said that Tehran should also join the mutual defence agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

 

“Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iraq can reach a collective defence pact,” Iran International quoted Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) General Safavi as saying.

 

Terming the pact a positive development, Gen Safavi claimed that the United States’ influence in the region was diminishing as it was now shifting its focus to the Asia-Pacific region.

 

He also said that in this situation, countries could establish a regional Islamic alliance.

 

Safavi’s remarks refer to the “Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement” signed between Islamabad and Riyadh on Sept 17, as per which an attack on either country would be treated as an act of aggression against both.

 

The agreement was inked days after Israel struck in Qatar’s capital Doha, which raised security concerns among Gulf countries.

 

The word “strategic” in the agreement prompted several international media outlets to speculate that Pakistan's nuclear programme had been made part of the pact, a claim that quickly drew attention and fuelled debate. 

 

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has, however, rejected the claim that Pakistan would sell nuclear weapons to the Kingdom under said agreement.