Shifting security dynamics in the Persian Gulf, fueled by escalating confrontation between the US-Israeli bloc and Iran, have pushed Kuwait to open early-stage negotiations for a broadened defense agreement with Pakistan, a deal that would be paired with expanded energy cooperation and Pakistani investment access, senior diplomatic sources cited by Reuters confirm.
According to a senior Pakistani official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, Kuwait’s proposal calls for Islamabad to deploy a substantial security contingent to the Gulf state: thousands of ground troops, combat fighter jet squadrons, armed drone units, integrated air defense systems, and supporting defense infrastructure. While discussions have only just begun, the outreach underscores a profound reordering of Gulf security alliances amid rising regional fallout from the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
Kuwait has emerged as one of the highest-impact targets of retaliatory Iranian strikes launched in response to the war. Just last week, Kuwaiti government officials confirmed that a critical national power generation and water desalination facility suffered severe damage during one such Iranian attack, threatening core public services for the country’s 5 million residents.
What makes Kuwait’s overture to Pakistan particularly notable is the Gulf state’s longstanding status as a major host for U.S. military forces. Currently, approximately 14,000 U.S. troops are based in Kuwait — a larger deployment than any other Middle Eastern nation — anchored by two large strategic American installations: Camp Arifjan, a major army logistics and command hub, and Ali al-Salem Air Base.
Pakistan occupies a unique diplomatic position in the region that makes it an attractive security partner for Kuwait. It maintains formal security cooperation with the United States, with particularly deep ties built during the Trump administration, while also preserving cordial, open diplomatic relations with Iran. This balanced stance has allowed Islamabad to carve out a niche as a trusted mediator between competing regional powers. Most recently, Pakistan and Qatar co-brokered a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, though that truce has come under severe strain as fighting has escalated in recent weeks.
The talks with Kuwait also highlight a growing broader trend: Pakistan is emerging as an alternative or complementary security provider for Gulf states seeking to supplement their security arrangements with the United States. In September 2025, Saudi Arabia — the Arab world’s largest economy — signed a formal mutual defense pact with Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed state in the Muslim world. During the most intense wave of Iranian strikes on Gulf targets earlier this year, many Saudi public commentators framed the new defense pact as placing Riyadh under Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent umbrella. A U.S. official speaking to Middle East Eye at the time noted that Pakistani leadership was uncomfortable with that framing and held diplomatic discussions with Saudi officials to clarify the agreement’s scope.
Beyond the defense pact, Pakistan has already leveraged its warm relations with Iran to lobby against attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes launched by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen. As Reuters previously reported in May, Pakistan already deployed 8,000 troops, one full fighter jet squadron, and a Chinese-built air defense system to Saudi Arabia to bolster the kingdom’s security.
Kuwait and Pakistan first signed a baseline security cooperation agreement in 2023, focused on mutual military training and joint exercises. Expanding that deal to include a formal mutual defense clause, modeled after the agreement Islamabad reached with Riyadh, would carry significant new risks for Pakistan. Unlike Saudi Arabia, which holds substantial regional diplomatic leverage over Iran thanks to its economic and political influence, Kuwait is a far smaller state with far less capacity to de-escalate tensions on its own.
Geographically, Kuwait’s position in the northern Persian Gulf leaves it uniquely exposed to missile and drone attacks from both Iran and Iran-aligned militias based in neighboring Iraq, a vulnerability that has been amplified dramatically since the outbreak of the current regional war. The U.S. military established its permanent footprint in Kuwait only in the 1990s, following Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi invasion of the country that pushed Kuwait to align closely with Washington. Historically, during the Ottoman Empire, Kuwait was part of a provincial administrative district that also included Iraq’s Basra region.
This reporting was compiled and distributed by Middle East Eye, an outlet that provides independent, in-depth coverage of the Middle East and North Africa region.