As US reliability falters, Saudi Arabia turns to a nuclear-armed ally.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif embrace each other after signing a defence agreement, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
When Pakistan's first nuclear test in 1998 resulted in international sanctions and diplomatic isolation, the nation sought assistance from Saudi Arabia, a longtime ally. Khalid Mahmood, then Pakistan’s ambassador to Riyadh, requested an urgent meeting with King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Mahmood said that the Saudi monarch opposed the test but promised to "support you more than you expect.
" The very next day, Pakistan was promised $3.4 billion in Saudi financial support, funds that helped Islamabad proceed with a second nuclear test, the ambassador said.
Many saw that moment as a turning point in Pakistan's role as the kingdom's de facto nuclear shield.
So when Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defense agreement on Wednesday, it reignited speculation over whether Riyadh might now formally fall under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella. A Saudi official told Reuters, "This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that includes all military means."
According to Jamal Al Harbi, the media attaché at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad, the agreement includes military co-production, technology transfer, and collaboration with the defense industry.
"Capacity-building and training" were also included in the agreement, he wrote in Pakistan, a Saudi state-linked publication. While the senior Saudi official said the deal was “years” in the making, its timing – just a week after an unprecedented Israeli attack on neighboring Qatar, a staunch US ally – suggests that Riyadh is looking beyond Washington to bolster its defenses after decades of near-total reliance on American protection.
During Donald Trump’s first term, Gulf Arab states had hoped that he would be the US president who truly appreciated their security concerns and acted decisively to protect them. He withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and ordered the assassination of Iran's powerful general Qassem Soleimani, a figure despised by Gulf Arab governments, during his first term, which appeared to be promising.
But ultimately, the Gulf states were disappointed. His administration didn't say much when a missile and drone strike on Saudi oil facilities in 2019 knocked out half of the kingdom's oil production and sent crude prices skyrocketing, both of which were widely attributed to Iran.
As regional tensions escalated, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pushed for a formal American security guarantee. After failing to secure one from the Biden administration, the Saudi crown prince issued an explicit warning that the kingdom’s patience with Washington might be running thin. In a September 2023 interview with Fox News, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said Riyadh could shift “their armament from America to another place.”
A strong Saudi Arabia, he said, meant a strong America. “You don’t want that to be shifted.”
Saudi Arabia renewed its faith in Trump when he returned to the White House.
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