Pakistan has sent fighter jets and other military forces to Saudi Arabia to boost security under a defence pact between the two countries, the Saudi defence ministry said on Saturday, as Islamabad hosted talks aimed at ending the Iran war.
Riyadh and Islamabad signed a mutual defence pact in September 2025 © Mena Today
Pakistan has sent fighter jets and other military forces to Saudi Arabia to boost security under a defence pact between the two countries, the Saudi defence ministry said on Saturday, as Islamabad hosted talks aimed at ending the Iran war.
The deployment follows a wave of Iranian talks on the Gulf kingdom over the past weeks that struck key energy infrastructure and killed a Saudi national.
Riyadh and Islamabad signed a mutual defence pact in September 2025, committing both sides to treat any aggression against either country as an attack on both. That significantly deepened a decades-old security partnership.
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry said in a statement that Pakistani fighter jets and support aircraft had arrived at the King Abdulaziz Air Base in the country's eastern province.
It said the Pakistani deployment aimed to strengthen joint defence cooperation and support regional and international security and stability.
Pakistan has long provided military support to the kingdom, including training and advisory deployments, while Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stepped in to support Pakistan financially during periods of economic stress.
Saudi Arabia's finance minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan was in Pakistan on Friday to demonstrate economic support for the country, a source familiar with the situation said.
In 2018, Riyadh announced a $6 billion support package, including a $3 billion deposit at the central bank and $3 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payment.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Mubasher Bukhari and Saad Sayeed in Islamabad
Jordan's air defense systems intercepted and shot down three Iranian missiles that entered the country's airspace early Friday, a military source at the General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces–Arab Army said.
Iran said it launched fresh strikes on U.S. facilities in the Middle East on Friday, including the first direct attack in Syria, after a sixth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military facilities.
Yemen's Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday that all Saudi oil and other vital facilities would be targets for the group's missiles and drones if Riyadh escalated its involvement in the conflict.
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