Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a strategic mutual defence agreement in 2025, cementing longstanding ties but also restricting how far Islamabad could go in supporting Tehran.

Sharif and his government have been quick to keep Riyadh on side, and the prime minister recently visited for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Pakistan also shares close ties with Beijing, which, Trump told AFP, helped get Iran across the line to the negotiating table.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar hosted a meeting with counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt last month for discussions on de-escalating the conflict and then flew to Beijing for further talks.

China, which is Iran’s largest trading partner, then joined its longstanding South Asian ally in calling for a plan to end the fighting engulfing the Middle East, saying it supported “Pakistan playing a unique and important role in easing the situation”.