In response to the US-Israeli attacks, Iran targeted American bases in many Muslim countries in the Middle East, from Qatar to UAE and Saudi Arabia. Arab and Muslim countries have expressed displeasure over Iran’s attack, but also warned of retaliatory action. At the same time, there are indications of Saudi Arabia pressurizing Pakistan to take action against Iran. This has been revealed by a report.
Defense agreements like ‘Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement’ (SMDA) exist between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Despite this, Islamabad’s reaction to Iranian attacks in Saudi Arabia remains calm. According to News-18 report, in a TV message sent to Canada through Saudi experts, Riyadh has indicated that it expects action from Islamabad in view of rising tensions in West Asia.
Questions raised regarding the report
Questions are also being raised regarding a report related to Pakistan’s foreign policy. In an article published in The Eurasian Times, Salahuddin Shoaib Chaudhary wrote that despite receiving financial and strategic support from Saudi Arabia for decades, Pakistan is adopting a policy of ‘appeasing’ Iran.
The article said, ‘It is worth noting that relations between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are more than seven decades old. The deployment of Pakistani military personnel for Saudi security has been established as an institutional arrangement for years. In addition, millions of Pakistani citizens are working in Saudi Arabia, who contribute significantly to Islamabad’s foreign exchange earnings.
What was mentioned in the report?
Faced with repeated attacks from Iran, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan warned that the kingdom’s restraint in the face of Iranian aggression is ‘not unlimited’, meaning military action could still be an option, The Eurasian Times reported. Meanwhile, Arab and Islamic countries in a joint statement urged Tehran to stop its aggression.
Iranian President apologized
Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian publicly apologized on March 7 for aggressive actions taken against countries in the Middle East. Despite this, according to reports, Iran has continued attacks on Gulf countries, which makes it clear that Tehran’s aim is not only to harm Israel but also to affect the economies of West Asian countries by targeting their critical infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar most affected by war
The Gulf states most affected during the war include Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, while Doha has reportedly spent money supporting Iranian proxy groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthi, with the aim of maintaining continued pressure on Israel.
UAE warned
Meanwhile, Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, has warned that attacks on energy infrastructure are affecting their operations and could have serious implications if tensions escalate. Amid increasing attacks by Iran, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has declared several Iranian diplomats as ‘persona non grata’ (undesirable persons).
According to reports, a large number of Iranian citizens in the UAE, including secret members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij, are trying to incite unrest against the government.
Claim to run online propaganda campaign
The article also says that Iranian operatives are recruiting Pakistani citizens in UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to run online propaganda campaigns against these countries and their leadership. Earlier, Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut had reported in an investigative report that Pakistan-based networks were spreading AI-based Iranian propaganda on social media platforms.
