A senior Iranian official has claimed that Pakistan would launch a nuclear strike against Israel if the Jewish state were to use nuclear weapons on Iran, a statement promptly rejected by Islamabad. “Pakistan has told us that if Israel uses a nuclear bomb on Iran, then Pakistan will also attack Israel with a nuclear bomb,” said General Mohsen Rezaei, a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and member of Iran’s National Security Council, during a broadcast on Iranian state television. The statement comes amid spiralling hostilities between Iran and Israel, with both nations engaged in direct missile exchanges and escalating rhetoric over the past three days.
However, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif dismissed Rezaei’s claim, stating that Islamabad had made no such commitment involving nuclear retaliation. He reiterated that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was not linked to any third-party conflict.
No nuclear pact, but unequivocal support
While denying any nuclear pact, Pakistan has expressed unequivocal political support for Iran. Following Israeli strikes on Iranian territory, Islamabad had declared that it "stands behind Iran", urging unity among Muslim nations in the face of Israeli aggression.
Speaking in the National Assembly on June 14, Asif warned that Muslim countries risked suffering a similar fate as Iran and Palestine if they did not confront Israel together. “Israel has targeted Iran, Yemen and Palestine. If Muslim nations don't unite now, each will face the same fate,” he said, as quoted by Turkiye Today.
He also urged Muslim-majority countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Israel to sever those relationships and called on the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene an emergency meeting to craft a joint response.
What are Israel and Iran’s nuclear positions?
Israel follows a long-standing policy of nuclear ambiguity, refusing to confirm or deny its nuclear capabilities. Nevertheless, the country is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons and a deterrence-based doctrine focused on maintaining strategic superiority in the region.
Iran, meanwhile, asserts that its nuclear programme is strictly for civilian purposes — including energy generation and medical research. As a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has publicly opposed the development of nuclear weapons.
However, Western governments and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have expressed concerns over Iran’s uranium enrichment levels, its missile development programme, and a lack of full transparency regarding past nuclear activity — suggesting the possibility of military dimensions to its nuclear pursuits.
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