Iran turns on Pakistan as Saudi defense pact takes effect

Key Points:

• The Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact entered its operational phase on October 5, with Turkish and Pakistani forces expected to provide military, technical, and intelligence support to Saudi Arabia for defensive purposes amid escalating Houthi attacks.
• Iran strongly criticized the pact, particularly Pakistan's involvement, viewing it as a destabilizing regional intervention that could exacerbate sectarian tensions and threaten Iran’s security; Iranian officials expressed hope the agreement would not harm Muslim unity.
• Iranian lawmakers dismissed the pact as ineffective and symbolic, warning that foreign military involvement would not secure Saudi Arabia and could backfire on Turkey and Pakistan, citing past failures in the Yemen conflict.
• Iranian state media and officials highlighted warnings from Houthi leaders to Turkey and Pakistan, suggesting that their participation in the conflict could lead to retaliatory attacks against their interests and territories.
• The pact stipulates collective defense, treating an attack on one member as an attack on all, but Iranian commentators framed it as deepening sectarian divides and questioned Pakistan’s role as a mediator, labeling it a regional intervenor.