Pakistan Deploys 8,000 Troops and Fighter Jets to Saudi Arabia
πͺ ISLAMABAD β Pakistan mediates in Tehran while arming up in Riyadh. π LOOK CLOSER: Pakistan's 8,000 troops, JF-17s, and Chinese HQ-9 systems in Saudi Arabia collapse the fiction of neutral mediation. Islamabad now has skin in the Gulf coalition β Tehran will read this as choosing sides. The HQ-9 detail matters: Chinese-made air defenses via Pakistan blurs Beijing's studied neutrality too. Iran's written proposal, brokered by Islamabad, just lost its credibility.