Overview
- Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry says Pakistan has positioned fighter jets and support aircraft at King Abdulaziz Air Base in the Eastern Province under their bilateral pact.
- The 2025 agreement provides for joint deployments and shared intelligence, and reporting on the text says an attack on one would be treated as an attack on both.
- Media accounts cite about 13,000 Pakistani troops and 10 to 18 jets in the kingdom, while officials have not confirmed the totals or the aircraft types.
- Officials describe the deployment as a deterrent to Iranian drone and missile strikes that have hit targets across the Gulf.
- The announcement comes as US and Iranian officials hold talks in Islamabad on a fragile ceasefire.