Hezbollah's effort to blunt international pressure on Lebanon to disarm the group by appealing to Saudi Arabia last week was the result of back-channel diplomacy by Iran, two Iranian sources and a source with knowledge of Hezbollah thinking said.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif clarified that the newly established strategic defence pact with Saudi Arabia was not a direct response to events in Qatar, although Israel's actions could have expedited negotiations.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will consider any Indian assault on its territory as an attack on Saudi Arabia, and any Israeli strike on Saudi Arabia will be met with full force, Prime Minister’s political adviser Rana Sanaullah said, pointing out the tactical importance of the new defense pact.

Naim Qassem says Saudi Arabia should open ‘new page’ in relations as pressure on the group ‘only benefits Israel’.

Hezbollah's leader has called Saudi Arabia to mend ties after years of tension and animosity. He said Friday in a televised speech that Hezbollah's weapons target Israel, not Saudi Arabia.

Iran’s top security official hailed Saudi Arabia on Saturday as a “friendly” country, welcoming Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem’s initiative to hold dialogue with the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday condemned "in the strongest terms" the Israeli ground operation in Gaza City, a day after Israel unleashed a long-threatened ground assault on the enclave.

Saudi Arabia has signed a defense pact with nuclear-armed Pakistan, pledging that any attack on either nation would be considered an attack on both.

Saudi Arabia and nuclear-armed Pakistan signed a formal mutual defense pact on Wednesday, in a move that significantly strengthens a decades-long security partnership amid heightened regional tensions.

As the Gaza war rages on, France and Saudi Arabia are chairing a high-profile meeting at the United Nations on Monday aimed at galvanizing support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with more nations expected to recognize a Palestinian state in defiance of Israel and the United States.