A senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader has proposed expanding the new defense pact between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia into a broader Islamic security alliance, framing it as a historic opportunity for regional unity and self-reliance in the face of shifting global powers.
In a significant diplomatic overture, Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly recommended that Iran join the Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement (SMDA) recently signed by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
General Safavi assessed the existing pact as a "positive development" and suggested that it should serve as the foundation for a larger collective defense framework. He specifically proposed that "Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Iraq can reach a collective defence pact," envisioning a powerful regional Islamic alliance. This initiative is presented as a pragmatic response to a changing world, with Safavi noting that the United States' influence is declining as it shifts focus to the Asia-Pacific, creating an opening for regional powers to shape their own security architecture.
The proposal for an expanded alliance is built upon the landmark Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement signed between Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh. This agreement is a formalization of a decades-old security partnership, marking a "key milestone" in their relations.
The core of the pact is a binding clause that treats "any attack on either nation as an act of aggression against both". This pledge mirrors collective defense principles in other international alliances and elevates the bilateral relationship into a formal security commitment. The pact is seen as part of a broader trend of Gulf states seeking to diversify their security partnerships amid growing doubts about the reliability of traditional external guarantees.
The push for a unified regional defense bloc is widely seen as a direct consequence of recent geopolitical upheavals and a declining confidence in external security guarantees. A key trigger was Israel's recent strikes on Qatar, which upended the regional diplomatic calculus and raised fundamental questions about the dependability of existing security structures. The fact that such an attack could occur despite the presence of a major U.S. military base in Qatar underscored a sense of vulnerability among regional nations.
This sentiment is compounded by a perception that the United States is gradually pivoting away from the Middle East, creating a strategic vacuum. In this context, the vision of a collective Islamic pact is not merely an aspiration but a strategic necessity. It represents a move toward regional self-reliance, signaling that the Gulf, alongside other Muslim powers, is prepared to take control of its own destiny and forge a new, multipolar security order shaped in Riyadh, Islamabad, and Tehran, rather than in Western capitals.
For Pakistan, a broader alliance would solidify its position as a central pillar of regional stability. The Pakistan-Saudi pact already positions the country as "the most capable Muslim power to safeguard regional stability". As the only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority nation, Pakistan brings a significant deterrent capability to any collective security arrangement, a fact that enhances the group's overall strategic weight.
An expanded pact including Iran and other nations would transform this bilateral understanding into a formidable bloc, potentially one of the most significant of the decade. It would institutionalize Muslim-world solidarity, moving beyond historical competitions for leadership within the Islamic world and instead fostering cooperation based on shared civilizational identity and common security interests. Such an alliance would not only enhance deterrence against external threats but also contribute to a more stable and balanced regional order.