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Pakistan, Saudi in talks on JF-17 jets-for-loans deal, sources say
The mutual defence deal was signed following Israel’s strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha, an attack that shook the Gulf region.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are in talks to convert about $2 billion of Saudi loans into a JF-17 fighter jet deal, two Pakistani sources said, deepening military cooperation months after the two nations signed a mutual defence pact last year, Reuters reported.
The talks underscore how the two allies are moving to operationalise defence cooperation at a time when Pakistan is facing acute financial strain and Saudi Arabia is reshaping its security partnerships to hedge against uncertainty about U.S. commitments in the Middle East.
The mutual defence deal was signed following Israel’s strikes on what it said were Hamas targets in Doha, an attack that shook the Gulf region.
One of the sources said the discussions were limited to the provision of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets, the light combat aircraft jointly developed by Pakistan and China and produced in Pakistan, while the second said the jets were the primary option among others under discussion.
The first source said the total deal was worth $4 billion, with an additional $2 billion to be spent on equipment over and above the loan conversion. The sources close to the military with knowledge of the matter spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak on the deal, read the report.
Pakistan’s military and finance and defence ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Saudi Arabia’s government media office also did not respond.
Pakistan’s Air Chief Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu was in Saudi Arabia this week to discuss “bilateral defence cooperation, regional security environment and future avenues of collaboration” with his counterpart Lieutenant General Turki bin Bander bin Abdulaziz, Pakistan’s military said in a statement on Thursday.
Aamir Masood, a retired Air Marshal and analyst, said Pakistan was in talks about or had finalised deals with six countries to provide equipment including JF-17s and electronic systems and weapons systems for the jets. He said those countries included Saudi Arabia, but could not confirm any details about the negotiations.
The JF-17s marketability has been increased because “it is tested and has been used in combat,” he told Reuters, adding that it’s also cost effective. Pakistan has said the aircraft was deployed during its conflict with India in May last year, the heaviest fighting between the neighbours in decades.
The mutual defence pact, signed in September, committed both sides to treat any aggression against either country as an attack on both, significantly deepening a decades-old security partnership.
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.
In 2018, Riyadh announced a $6 billion support package for Pakistan, including a $3 billion deposit at the central bank and $3 billion worth of oil supplies on deferred payment.
Saudi Arabia has since rolled over deposits multiple times, including a $1.2 billion deferment last year, helping Islamabad stabilise its foreign exchange reserves amid chronic balance-of-payments pressures.
Pakistan has in recent months stepped up defence outreach as it seeks to expand arms exports and monetise its domestic defence industry.
Last month, Islamabad struck a weapons deal worth more than $4 billion with Libya’s eastern-based Libyan National Army, officials said, one of the country’s largest-ever arms sales, which includes JF-17 fighter jets and training aircraft.
Pakistan has also held talks with Bangladesh on the possible sale of JF-17s, as it widens its arms supply ambitions beyond South Asia and the Middle East.
On Tuesday, Pakistan’s defence minister said the success of its weapons industry could transform the country’s economic outlook, Reuters reported.
“Our aircraft have been tested, and we are receiving so many orders that Pakistan may not need the International Monetary Fund in six months,” Khawaja Asif told broadcaster Geo News.
Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion IMF programme, its 24th, which followed a short-term $3 billion deal that helped avert a sovereign default in 2023. It secured the Fund’s support after Saudi Arabia and other Gulf allies provided financial and deposit rollovers.
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Iran says outcome of Israeli elections ‘makes no difference’
Tuesday’s legislative elections will take place amid mounting threats by Israel and the United States to renew attacks on Iran after they launched their war in late February.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Monday that the outcome of the Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a tight race will make “no difference”, AFP reported.
“It makes no difference to us who, in these elections, takes the helm of a regime that has brought nothing but violence and massacres to our region,” said ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei in a weekly press briefing.
Tuesday’s legislative elections will take place amid mounting threats by Israel and the United States to renew attacks on Iran after they launched their war in late February.
Netanyahu has in recent days repeatedly said the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran is to topple its government.
On Sunday, he told Israel’s Channel 14 that he had “instructed the Mossad and the IDF to overthrow the Iranian regime”.
Baqaei dismissed Netanyahu’s remarks as “empty threats” and a “sign of desperation”.
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Officials from Mecca pact countries to meet Iranian officials in Tehran
Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Top officials from Mecca Pact countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are to meet Iran’s leaders in Tehran on Monday in their first high-level contact since the kingdom became a pressure point in the wider Iran conflict, Reuters reported.
Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Saudi and Iranian officials said.
Attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have spiralled in recent weeks and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated. Both countries have also drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the US midterm elections on November 3.
Monday’s planned talks will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. Under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday discussions on regional security would include “Israel’s expansionist policies, developments in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli military action against Iran.”
Baghaei said the meeting, proposed during a visit by Munir to Tehran last week, could be a first step towards establishing regional security mechanisms based on the interests of countries in the region.
Qatari mediators met Iranian officials in Tehran on Sunday in a push to de-escalate regional tensions, Reuters reported. Qatar has, for months, played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington.
A senior Iranian official said the meeting was initiated by Pakistan, during Munir’s visit to Tehran, as he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. During the visit, Iranian officials told him there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.
Earlier mediation efforts involving both Pakistan and Qatar helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later.
The deputy secretary of Iran’s top security body, Ali Baqeri-Kani, told state TV that Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid, Pakistan’s Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would visit Tehran for consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on regional security.
Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts by the Mecca Pact countries to de-escalate the current crisis, promote diplomatic solutions, and support mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan.”The visit also underscores the pivotal role of the Mecca Pact states in fostering regional security and stability, and their commitment to working with all nations in the region toward achieving this goal,” Krimly posted on X.
Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthis continued unabated.
Ministers from the Mecca Pact countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this month and agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising element in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, turning US ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider war.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have sharpened in recent days. President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran and Iran’s leaders have said that a renewed US military campaign would be met with a stronger response than before.
Iranian security officials have told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to hit Gulf undersea cables if the United States and Israel attack again. A US intelligence memo this week warned that Iranian plots against American personnel had reached “advanced stages”.
The war, now nearly eight months old, has weighed on President Donald Trump’s approval ratings ahead of the midterms.
The Mecca agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.
Efforts by Turkey’s parliament to ratify the agreement began last week and are still underway, while Pakistan approved the pact last week.
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Iran tells Pakistan army chief no talks with Washington until demands are met
The demands include ending a US blockade on its ports, the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports as well as ending hostilities on all regional fronts.
Iran told Pakistan’s army chief on Tuesday that there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, Iranian media reported, underscoring its hardening stance despite mediation efforts by key interlocutor Pakistan.
President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed mediation efforts and regional developments with Field Marshal Asim Munir in Tehran, according to Nournews.
Pakistan is a key intermediary between the United States and Iran. Earlier mediation efforts helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the Islamabad Memorandum quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the US resumed weeks after.
Munir also met Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who said Washington could not regain Tehran’s trust until it fulfilled seven conditions Iran set last month for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, according to an Iranian readout of the meeting.
The demands include ending a US blockade on its ports, the lifting of sanctions on its oil exports as well as ending hostilities on all regional fronts.
Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, delivered a similar message during a separate meeting with Munir, saying there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.
Rezaei also said all enriched nuclear materials would remain in Iran, reiterating Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei’s position that near-weapons-grade uranium should not be shipped abroad.
US Vice President JD Vance said earlier this month that Iran must make a “meaningful” reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the countries’ eight-month-old war.
Israel, the United States and other Western states have long accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, including pointing to its move to enrich uranium to 60%, far higher than needed for civilian uses and closer to the 90% needed for a weapon.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
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