Axis of Cooperation

This is Israel’s worst nightmare, its worst-case scenario, the development it has spent decades trying to prevent: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Iran sitting in one room, talking as partners and potential allies against the Zionist threat, without allowing sectarian and cultural differences to tear them apart.
The quadrilateral meeting in Tehran is perhaps as consequential as the Makkah Defence Alliance itself. It has brought together regional powers to confront the US-Israeli combine, if not tangibly as yet, then symbolically. In the fractured Middle East, such symbolism carries enormous weight.
For decades, sectarian divisions, political rivalries and competing alliances have prevented the region from presenting a united front. CIA-Mossad led propaganda campaigns, provocations and false-flag operations have deepened the divide between Iran and Saudi Arabia, threatening to push them towards confrontation. Cooperation between these two powers is the real anathema to such designs.
The first hints of that cooperation are now visible. Should they mature into a durable security arrangement, they could become a formidable pillar of stability in the Middle East, reducing dependence on outside powers and allowing regional states to determine their own security priorities.
Pakistan’s leadership deserves considerable credit for the tireless diplomatic efforts that made this meeting possible. Even after the Islamabad Accords were set aside, Islamabad did not abandon its pursuit of reconciliation.
Of course, one meeting cannot undo decades of strained ties. This axis of cooperation remains in its infancy, and formidable obstacles lie ahead. But the foundations have been laid. Pakistan must continue working to turn this historic convergence into a lasting regional partnership.