From Caution to Cooperation: Iran-Pakistan Relations in the Shadow of Regional Conflict

Against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the Middle East, Iran and Pakistan are quietly—yet somewhat strategically—attempting to strengthen their bilateral relations. With ongoing conflicts in the region, concerns over nuclear safety, and growing border security threats, Tehran and Islamabad are navigating their historically cautious ties to support a multi-layered partnership that is anchored in mutual strategic interests.

The shift in relations between the two nations comes at the height of an unprecedented diplomatic initiative. Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, made two high-profile visits to Washington, D.C. in 2025—both before and after the 12-Day War between Iran and Israel—meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and key figures in the Trump administration. As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and July’s rotating president, Pakistan has strengthened its diplomatic leverage at a critical time, as debates over reinstating sanctions on Iran are ongoing. Under this increasing diplomatic clout, Pakistan, perceiving existential security threats from regional conflicts, has become more keen on strengthening its relations with Tehran to mitigate security and political risks.

Alignments in a Volatile Region

In an area undergoing escalating instability, Iran and Pakistan have found aligning ambitions regarding regional security threats. In May 2025, tensions erupted between India and Pakistan following a terrorist attack in Kashmir,  raising fears of a prolonged war between the two nuclear nations. Tehran stressed the importance of security in South Asia, and backed mediation efforts through the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Tehran’s public support for Pakistan’s position did not go unnoticed by those in the corridors of power in Islamabad.

Consequently, after war erupted between Israel and Iran in June, Pakistan joined other Muslim countries at the OIC to condemn Israel’s strikes on Iran and its war in Gaza, framing the move as a symbolic rejection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s escalating trans-border conflicts in the Muslim world. Neither Iran nor Pakistan has diplomatic relations with Israel, and Pakistan’s perception that “the friend of my enemy is my enemy”—a reference to Israel’s close ties to India—has brought it closer to Iran. Adding to these tensions is a growing alignment between right-wing factions in India and Israel that view Islam as an existential threat to their countries, making the Tehran-Islamabad partnership more urgent.

Nuclear safety is another converging concern for Iran and Pakistan. As the only Muslim state with nuclear weapons, Pakistan urgently called for an emergency OIC meeting after Israel attacked Iran’s nuclear sites in June. Islamabad and Tehran expressed concern over the safety of their respective nuclear sites, alluding to Israeli hints to eliminate nuclear sites across the Muslim world altogether. However, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar did distance himself from former Iranian Vice President Mohsen Rezaei—who stated that Pakistan would reciprocate against Israel if it bombed Tehran—while underscoring the protection of its own nuclear program. Taken together, these dynamics illustrate how nuclear safety, alongside regional conflicts, form a critical pillar shaping Iranian-Pakistani relations.

Shared Borders, Shared Problems: Uniting Against Common Threats

Geographically, Pakistan and Iran share about 900 kilometers of land on their borders, creating a multitude of overlapping security concerns. The shared border has long been problematic, as it contains armed groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, ethnic Baluchi insurgents, ISIS, and Jaish al-Adl. Additionally, Iran is home to former Afghan government intelligence, security and military officers who escaped the Taliban when it took control of Afghanistan in 2021, giving Tehran leverage to negotiate with Islamabad about how best to maintain border security. Consequently, when Pakistan closed border crossings with Iran during the June war, Islamabad expressed concern over border security and urged for calm along its restive borders.

Yet the Iran-Pakistan border is not only home to militant threats—it also serves as a critical juncture for religious and social flows that bind the two nations together. Each year, hundreds of thousands of Pakistani Shia pilgrims visit Iran and Iraq’s religious shrines, making safe passage an important bilateral issue. Pakistan has one of the world’s largest Shia populations, and many of Pakistan’s Shia follow Iran’s clergy—creating both opportunities for collaboration and logistical issues for Islamabad. This shared frontier ultimately underscores Iran and Pakistan’s need to cooperate—not only to secure borders from conflict and violence, but also to foster social ties and shared culture.

Economic Integration and Cooperation

From an economic standpoint, Iran engages with Pakistan through full membership in the Economic Cooperation Organization, a regional body designed to promote economic growth, and the permanent inter-governmental Shanghai Cooperation Organization. These ties advance Iran’s goal for multipolar cooperation across Asia to secure and diversify trade routes, while also enabling Tehran to cooperate with Pakistan on maritime security in the Indian Ocean.

Tehran also stands to gain from the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the Gwadar Sea Port. If Tehran is successful in linking its Chabahar Port to Islamabad’s Gwadar Port—located only 400 km away—it will reap the benefits of low-cost trade. Moreover, while trade between Pakistan and Iran is limited due to international sanctions on Tehran, unofficial trade between the two is extensive, with Pakistan receiving  nearly 40 percent of its gasoline from Iran through unofficial border trade. If completed, the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project—estimated to cost $158 million—will further integrate their energy sectors. These ever-growing ties led President Masoud Pezeshkian to stress the need for monetary cooperation between the two countries, and the signing of eight Memoranda of Understanding in 2024. A planned 235 km railway through Pakistan and Iran that would link to Europe is another potential project the two have discussed, along with a corridor between Afghanistan and Pakistan via Iran—though international sanctions complicate the feasibility of such large-scale initiatives.

From Alignment to Opportunity: The Makings of a Stronger Partnership

With Pakistan’s growing status in central Asia, its diplomatic shuttling in Washington, and its increasingly strategic role within U.S. security calculations, Iran has the opportunity to open new lines of communication with Washington and its partners through Islamabad. In return, Pakistan has a stick that it can use to balance its relationship between the United States and China, as well as a way to counter the Israel-India alliance.

Beyond bilateral gains, this partnership demonstrates a shift in the regional order. By cooperating on regional stability measures, border security initiatives, and economic investments, Iran and Pakistan are creating a multifaceted relationship that extends beyond traditional forms of diplomacy. Their growing alliance emphasizes how shared issues and ambitions can lay a foundation for strategic collaboration. If this alliance continues to grow, Tehran’s relationship with Islamabad—if managed correctly and built on trust—stands to improve in both directions, giving Pakistan a key regional ally and offering Iran at least one reliable partner amid its crushing regional isolation.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Gulf International Forum.