The official version of LeechBlock is a browser plug-in that helps users easily manage their Internet usage time and provides efficient prevention of network interference. The official version of LeechBlock has a variety of time management tools
The U.S. military suddenly canceled its elite troop exercises, further triggering speculation about its troop deployment in the Middle East.
On the 6th local time, the U.S. "Washington Post" quoted multiple officials as saying that the U.S. Army recently suddenly suspended the major exercises originally planned to be held by the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and ordered it to stay at the Fort Bragg base in North Carolina on standby.
According to reports, a brigade-level combat team of about 4,000 to 5,000 people under the 82nd Airborne Division can complete deployment within 18 hours after receiving an order, and undertake diverse tasks such as seizing key facilities such as airports, strengthening embassy security, and performing emergency evacuations.
The report pointed out that although no official deployment order had been issued as of Friday, this unusual move has triggered speculation within the Ministry of Defense: As the conflict between the United States and Iran continues to escalate, this elite paratrooper unit, which is good at ground combat and various tasks, is likely to be transferred to the Middle East.
In 2022, soldiers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division were in Wola Kozhenzka, Poland. "Washington Post"
Given that the 82nd Airborne Division has played a key role in all crises and is the core of the U.S. Army's global rapid response force, it is generally believed that it is likely to be recruited first.
In recent years, the 82nd Airborne Division has been ordered to strengthen the security of the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad many times, especially before the U.S. assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force, in 2020. In addition, it will play a central role in the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and the deterrence deployment of US troops in Eastern Europe before the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Multiple anonymous U.S. officials revealed that the Army is expected to announce in the near future that helicopter units attached to the 82nd Airborne Division will deploy to the Middle East as previously planned, but related operations will not begin until later in the spring.
"We are all preparing for some kind of situation - just in case," said an official familiar with the matter.
When asked about the matter, the Pentagon issued only a brief statement and refused to disclose details. "For security reasons, we do not discuss future or hypothetical operations." The U.S. Central Command, which is responsible for operations in the Middle East, declined to comment.
“Iran’s Khark Island may be the US military’s primary target”
According to the "Washington Post" report, nearly a week since the conflict broke out, the US military has mainly relied on air strikes and maritime strikes to continue to destroy Iranian military facilities, missile and drone arsenals, and naval vessels. As Iran's defense system gradually disintegrates, US warplanes and bombers have begun flying directly through Iranian airspace to conduct bombings.
Although Trump has publicly stated that there is a "high probability" that U.S. ground forces will not need to intervene in the current operation, he and his senior staff have always refused to rule out this option.
On the 6th, the Wall Street Journal, NBC and other media quoted sources as saying that Trump had discussed the idea of deploying ground troops to Iran with aides and Republican officials and had shown strong interest in it. Rather than a large-scale ground invasion, the approach favors sending small forces to carry out specific strategic objectives. The source also emphasized that Trump has not yet made a decision or issued an order on this matter.
White House Press Secretary Levitt responded that day that the above-mentioned source was not a member of the White House national security team.
On Wednesday, she also said that sending ground troops to Iran was "not a current plan, but it would not rule out any options on the president's desk."
At a Pentagon briefing on the same day, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Kaine declined to comment when asked about the involvement of ground forces, saying only that "this is a question for policymakers."
"I don't make policy," Kaine added, "I implement policy."
He was joined by Defense Secretary Hegseth, who earlier this week refused to rule out the possibility of sending ground combat troops.
Despite the ambiguous attitude of the United States, speculation that "Trump may deploy ground troops to Iran" has continued to heat up on the American Internet. Many American netizens shared that they have military friends who have experienced deployment adjustments in the Middle East.
Others bluntly said: "As far as Trump's intentions are concerned, one division is far from enough. The 82nd Airborne Division is likely to become the first large-scale deployment of troops in theaters."
According to the latest report from NBC, a Department of Defense official revealed that as the war against Iraq advances, the United States plans to recruit more National Guard and Army Reserve personnel to support operations.
Currently, approximately 22,000 Army and Air National Guard members are deployed overseas to perform missions around the world. The official also said that relevant troops had been recruited before the launch of the operation in Iraq, and members of the local guard who had been deployed were also assigned to provide support for the operation from the area where they were located.
A considerable proportion of the personnel and equipment deployed by the US military around the world come from the National Guard and Reserves. The six U.S. military personnel killed in this round of conflicts were all members of the Army Reserve Support Force from Iowa.
The Washington Post quoted analysts as saying that if the United States dispatches ground troops, Iran's Khark Island may become the primary target. The island, located in the Persian Gulf, about 15 miles from the Iranian mainland, is home to Iran's most important oil infrastructure, with about 90% of the country's oil exports transshipped through this facility.
The report pointed out that seizing the island will not only control Iran's core economic resources, but also fit in with Trump's previous strategy of controlling the oil wealth of hostile countries, but it will also expose the US military stationed there to the risk of direct attack.
Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, believes that seizing Khark Island is "a no-brainer." He also mentioned that the Trump administration seemed to be "increasingly realizing that the Iran problem was much more difficult than they initially thought."
Since the beginning of this year, regulatory authorities have continued to use "zero tolerance" to crack down on various illegal activities in the capital market and strengthen law enforcement and deterrence.
According to statistics from the China Securities Regulatory Commission website, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and local securities regulatory bureaus issued 181 administrative penalty decisions (hereinafter referred to as fines) in the first half of the year, with a total fine and confiscation amount of 2.42163 billion yuan. The amount of fines and confiscation was close to that of the whole of last year (2.667 billion yuan). Among them, illegal disclosure of information, insider trading, and illegal private equity funds ranked the top three, with 82, 29, and 26 fines respectively.
After comparing with previous years, reporters found that this year there has been a significant increase in fines for private equity violations; penalties for lending securities accounts, illegal securities investment consulting services, etc. have become normalized; huge fines are mostly concentrated in illegal activities that have been fined for multiple violations and have not corrected despite repeated corrections.
Zheng Yu, a professor at the School of International Finance and Law at East China University of Political Science and Law, told a reporter from Securities Daily that since the beginning of this year, the regulatory authorities’ penalties have shown a wide coverage. Among the fines where false statements still dominate, the number of penalties for illegal bond disclosures has increased, and the signal of strong supervision is obvious. In the second half of the year, regulatory authorities will still maintain "zero tolerance" for illegal activities in the capital market. The types of crackdowns will mainly be traditional false statements, but will also cover various new types of illegal activities, while the intensity of crackdowns will not be reduced.
Those who refuse to change despite repeated punishments will be severely punished
Since the beginning of this year, letter disclosure violations and insider trading are still the hardest hit areas, but there have been some new changes in the punishment situation. For example, in the first half of the year, there were an increase in the number of fines for illegal disclosure of letters involving the bond market, with 12 fines, one of which involved the fraudulent issuance of corporate bonds. Among the insider trading fines, the number of fines involving insider trading in the same stock increased, that is, the number of insider trading cases increased. In addition, those who leak inside information and encourage others to engage in insider trading will also be punished.
Although there were only seven fines for market manipulation in the first half of the year, most of them were huge fines, with a total fine of 1.692 billion yuan. For those who violate the law repeatedly and refuse to correct their behavior after repeated punishments, the regulatory authorities will strike hard and issue sky-high fines. The top two fines in the first half of the year were fines for market manipulation.
For example, Wang Fatong and Dong Bangqing used 74 securities accounts to borrow money from others and trade four stocks with leverage. They were fined four by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. The total amount of fines was as high as 1.127 billion yuan, making it the highest fine ever issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission during the year. As early as 2018, Wang Fatong was fined three times by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for manipulating three stocks including "Rutong Shares" and was fined 1.389 billion yuan. At the same time, he was banned from the market for life.
Ren Liangcheng is also a "frequent person" on the Securities Regulatory Commission's fines. In 2015, 2016, and 2018, he was punished by the Securities Regulatory Commission for manipulating multiple stocks. This year, he was once again fined 297 million yuan by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for manipulating 16 stocks (one of which was involved in a criminal case and was not punished). The amount of fines and forfeitures ranked second in the year. At the same time, Ren Liangcheng was banned from the securities market for life.
"Ren Liangcheng's stock manipulation behavior lasted for a long time, manipulated many stocks, and involved a large amount of money, which has seriously disrupted the order of the securities market and caused serious social impact. Ren Liangcheng has been administratively punished three times by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and is currently being prosecuted for suspected securities market manipulation. The court's first-instance criminal judgment has determined that he constitutes the crime of securities market manipulation." The China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that Ren Liangcheng is a typical case of unrepentant and defiant crime. His behavior is particularly bad and should be severely punished in accordance with the law.
"Increasing the intensity of punishment for the same punishment object reflects the 'zero tolerance' attitude of the capital market." Zhu Yiyi, a lawyer at Guoco Law Firm (Shanghai), said in an interview with a reporter from Securities Daily that he had received regulatory penalties for illegal activities in the capital market, but failed to take warning and committed violations again. The degree of subjective malignancy is deeper. Increasing the intensity of punishment is necessary. While punishing violators in accordance with the law, it also serves as a warning to other market entities.
Private placement fines increased significantly
The increase in fines for illegal private equity funds is an obvious feature of the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s fines this year. The above-mentioned 26 fines involve 10 private equity institutions and their relevant persons in charge. Among them, the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau issued 24 administrative penalty decisions to 8 private equity investment funds at the end of June. The actual controllers of the 8 private equity funds were Hu Mougang and Huang Moubo. The illegal activities included engaging in investment activities that damaged fund property and the interests of investors, failing to perform disclosure obligations as required, failing to submit annual financial reports as required, and failing to properly preserve information related to private equity fund business.
"From the perspective of the number of funds and asset scale, private equity funds are already an important type of investors in the capital market. Private equity investment funds are large in number and small in scale, and their compliance level and even compliance awareness are relatively low. With the continuous improvement of the China Securities Regulatory Commission's enforcement capabilities, it is not surprising that the number of private equity fund violation cases investigated and dealt with has increased." Chen Bo, a partner at DeHeng (Shanghai) Law Firm, told a reporter from Securities Daily.
In addition, some new illegal acts are also punished. For example, Jiutai Fund, known as the "King of Fixed Increase", was punished by the China Securities Regulatory Commission for participating in "guaranteed fixed increase" and using fund assets to seek benefits for people other than fund share holders. According to the administrative penalty decision, in 2017, Jiutai Fund, through its subsidiary fund Jiutai Jiuli, participated in guaranteed fixed increases in five listed companies. The actual controllers or shareholders signed agreements involving income guarantees, with annualized income ranging from 7% to 13%. In addition, the actual controller of Jiutai Fund also instructed Jiutai Jiuli to buy stocks of a certain company. The actual controller of the company promised that the annual investment return rate (compound interest) realized after selling and realizing the shares in the future will not be less than 12%, otherwise the shortfall will be compensated in cash.
However, until the liquidation of Jiutai Jiuli, Jiutai Jiuli did not disclose the minimum guarantee to fund share holders, and the fund liquidation assets did not include compensation. As of the time of the China Securities Regulatory Commission's investigation, only three shareholders of listed companies had actually paid compensation, totaling 223.8492 million yuan, and all the compensation was remitted to the bank account of Jiutai Fund shareholder Jiuzhou Securities.
In fact, the new refinancing regulations introduced in 2020 have clearly prohibited "guaranteed fixed increase". Since then, the Supreme Law has made it clear that guaranteed fixed increase agreements are not protected by law. Chen Bo said that under normal circumstances, the China Securities Regulatory Commission will not punish fixed-increase investors after the "guaranteed increase" incident. Individual private equity funds and relevant responsible persons were fined. The reason was not the "guaranteed increase" agreement, but breach of trust that harmed the interests of investors in the products they managed.
Full coverage of new illegal activities
In recent years, penalties for some new types of illegal acts have become increasingly normalized. The new securities law expanded the scope of the prohibition on lending securities accounts from "legal persons" to "any unit or individual." In the first half of the year, a total of three fines were issued involving lending stock accounts. Correspondingly, entities and individuals who borrow securities accounts are also punished for different illegal acts.
"The increase in fines for lending securities accounts and other matters related to the new securities law also reflects the 'zero tolerance' of supervision. By strengthening penalties, we will warn relevant market entities and reduce the occurrence of relevant violations of laws and regulations." Zhu Yiyi said.
In addition, the supervision of securities investment consulting business has become stricter, and three fines were issued during the year involving violations of the securities investment consulting business. Among them, Fujian Tianxin was revoked from the securities investment consulting business because the documents and materials submitted to the securities regulatory authorities contained false statements or major omissions, and the circumstances were serious.
"In recent years, the regulatory authorities have continuously broadened the scope of crackdowns based on the new market situation to cover all types of illegal activities, embodying the regulatory concept of strong supervision and zero tolerance." Zheng Yu said.
Next, Zhu Yiyi said that the capital market will focus on strengthening the protection of market order and ecological shaping under the comprehensive registration system, continue to maintain a zero-tolerance attitude, increase the crackdown on illegal activities in the capital market, and protect the interests of investors.
In addition, for some market entities seeking illegal benefits by exploiting legal loopholes, leading to some new violations of laws and regulations in the capital market, regulatory authorities need to continuously improve and revise existing systems, and at the same time strengthen crackdowns to act as a deterrent and warning to relevant market entities.
Safety and comfort are both the goal and the prerequisite for women traveling alone. They can fly more economically and live more comfortably than men.
Qunar data shows that women traveling alone pay an average of 20% more for hotels than men, while the average price of air tickets is 2% lower. 66% of women who choose solo trips will stay in three-star or above hotels; among them, the number of women staying in four-star or above hotels in the past year has increased by more than 80% year-on-year.
When traveling alone, many women like an impromptu happy trip. Data shows that compared with women as a whole, the overall decision-making time for women traveling alone is shortened by 20%.
AI also helps women traveling alone to shorten their decision-making time and "go at the drop of a hat." Compared with traditional communication methods, women are more likely to use AI to solve problems on the road. Using AI, they do not need to reveal their identity and personal privacy, and can get more comprehensive answers faster without being disturbed.
"Ask a question" AI data shows that since the launch of the AI function, the number of conversations and the number of users have increased significantly by about 40%, and among users who use the AI function when booking hotels, women account for 60%. Their favorite questions focus on travel and check-in related scenarios, including location and transportation, entry and exit policies, parking and catering, basic information and supporting facilities.
In addition, more than 60% of female users use travel AI itinerary planning assistants, and they also show higher usage activity. From itinerary planning, transportation, destination consultation, to accommodation selection, price budget, and surrounding short-distance arrangements, women use AI to cope with the uncertainty during the journey and spend more leisurely time with themselves wherever they go.
Jiupai News Reporter Li Yang Li Kai
Editor Fu Shan
According to a reporter from Securities Daily, as of August 4, the China Securities Regulatory Commission had issued 123 administrative penalty decisions during the year, 23 of which involved maximum penalties, mainly focusing on letter disclosure violations. Judging from the amount of fines and confiscations, 6 fines involved more than 10 million yuan, mainly concentrated in insider trading cases, with the highest fine reaching 3.625 billion yuan.
Market participants believe that more large fines applicable to the new securities law may gradually appear in the second half of this year, and the securities class action system with Chinese characteristics has been activated, and civil liability will be intensified. The Criminal Law Amendment (Draft) is currently soliciting opinions. The multi-dimensional administrative, civil, and criminal liability will significantly increase the cost of illegal activities in the capital market.
Disclosure violations and insider trading are the focus of penalties
Since the beginning of this year, the capital market has been the focus of many meetings of the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as the Financial Committee). In the last two meetings of the Financial Committee, "zero tolerance" for illegal activities in the capital market was mentioned.
On July 30, the China Securities Regulatory Commission held a mid-year work meeting and proposed to implement the "zero tolerance" requirement and severely crack down on illegal and criminal activities in the capital market. Continue to intensify the crackdown on malignant illegal and criminal cases such as fraudulent issuances, financial fraud, insider trading, and market manipulation, promote the establishment of a coordination mechanism for combating illegal activities in the capital market, and promote the construction of a three-dimensional and organic system in which administrative law enforcement, civil recovery, and criminal punishment are interconnected and mutually supportive.
According to statistics from the China Securities Regulatory Commission website, as of August 4, this year, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and local securities regulatory bureaus have issued 123 administrative penalty decisions and banned 46 people from the market. Among them, there were 48 fines for letter disclosure violations and 35 fines for insider trading. Letter disclosure violations and insider trading were still the focus, accounting for nearly 70% of the total number of fines.
Judging from the degree of punishment, 23 of the above 123 tickets were maximum penalties. Among them, 22 were illegal disclosures, and the listed company or the actual controller was severely punished, that is, a fine of 600,000 yuan was received. The other one is an insider trading ticket, which imposes a maximum penalty of "no one and five fines" on the violator.
Judging from the amount of fines and confiscations, since this year, at least 20 fines have been issued for individuals or persons acting in concert with amounts exceeding one million yuan. Among them, 6 fines have fines exceeding 10 million yuan, and 1 fines have exceeded 100 million yuan. Large fines are mainly concentrated in insider trading cases.
Among them, the highest penalty amount was an insider trading ticket issued to Wang Yuan and Wang Moumou and his daughter. The China Securities Regulatory Commission's administrative penalty decision showed that two people made a profit of 906 million yuan from insider trading in a listed pharmaceutical company in Guangdong, and were confiscated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and fined three times for a total of 3.625 billion yuan.
According to the "2019 Securities and Futures Audit Law Enforcement Investor Protection Evaluation Report", throughout 2019, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and local securities regulatory bureaus made a total of 296 administrative penalty decisions, with a fine and confiscation amount of 4.183 billion yuan, and 66 people were banned from the market.
Three-dimensional accountability will become a trend
On July 31, the China Securities Regulatory Commission stated that it had recently transferred 10 cases of listed companies’ financial fraud and other suspected securities crimes to the public security organs in accordance with the law. Since 2019, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has transferred a total of 24 cases suspected of illegal disclosure and non-disclosure of important information to the public security organs.
Next, the China Securities Regulatory Commission will crack down on illegal securities and futures activities in accordance with the law, and comprehensively use mechanisms such as multiple investigations in one case, administrative penalties, market entry bans, forced delisting for major violations, criminal liability, and civil compensation to effectively increase the cost of illegal activities and make every effort to maintain the stable and healthy development of the capital market.
According to the reporter's review, among the above 123 fines, only 3 involved illegal borrowing of securities accounts, and were punished under the provisions of the new securities law.
"With the help of technological means, the efficiency of the CSRC's inspection and enforcement has been greatly improved in recent years. According to statistics, the investigation period of cases has been greatly shortened in the past two years, with an average investigation period of 133 days." Chen Bo, a partner at Deheng (Shanghai) Law Firm, told a reporter from Securities Daily: "After the CSRC files a case, the average investigation period is 4 The results will be announced every month. According to this pattern, there may be more fines for cases involving letter disclosure violations that apply to the new securities law. However, cases filed after March 1 are likely to be for violations before March 1, and in principle, the old law will apply.”
If fines applicable to the new securities law appear on a large scale, it is expected that large fines will be "unsurprising". "The new securities law has further increased the cost of violations of laws and regulations in the capital market by significantly increasing the penalties for fraudulent issuances, illegal disclosures, and non-disclosure of important information. As a result, perpetrators of violations will face higher administrative fines and civil compensation for investors." Zhu Yiyi, a lawyer at Guoco Law Firm (Shanghai), told a reporter from Securities Daily: "It is expected that a batch of letter disclosure violation cases that will be investigated for suspected misleading statements after March will first be subject to the new securities law."
The 36th meeting of the Financial Committee proposed that for typical cases of major importance and negative social impact, "collective litigation" should be launched promptly in accordance with the law. With the official release of the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning Representative Litigation in Securities Disputes" by the Supreme People's Court, as well as relevant arrangements and rules issued by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Small and Medium Investor Service Center, the class action system with Chinese characteristics has been activated. Market participants expect that there will be cases involving securities class actions with Chinese characteristics within the year.
In terms of increasing criminal liability, the "Amendment to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (Eleven) (Draft)" (referred to as the draft) has been reviewed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and is currently soliciting opinions. The draft increases the penalties for the crimes of fraudulent issuance of stocks and bonds; the crime of illegal disclosure or failure to disclose important information; the crime of providing false supporting documents; and the crime of major inaccuracies in issuing supporting documents. Market participants believe that the amendments to the criminal law and the new securities law echo and complement each other, and will strengthen the crackdown on securities violations from multiple dimensions such as administrative, civil, and criminal. Reporter Wu Xiaolu
The official version of LeechBlock is a browser plug-in that helps users easily manage their Internet usage time and provides efficient prevention of network interference. The official version of LeechBlock has a variety of time management tools, such as timers, statistical functions, blocking specific websites, etc., which can help users control their network usage behavior and improve work efficiency. The official version of LeechBlock supports a variety of custom settings. Users can adjust the plug-in settings according to their own needs to meet their personalized needs.
LeechBlock software features
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Added option to pass the URL of the blocked page in the URL of the blocked page (using $U) Added option to keep blocked pages in the browser's "back" history Added option to show a warning message before the site is blocked Added option to calculate time spent when a page is not focused (workaround for some sites using Flash/Java) Added hyperlink from options dialog to examples (online) Redesigned options dialog to use less screen real settings Removed localization (translator not available)
LeechBlock software features
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LeechBlock update log
Added option to pass the URL of the blocked page in the URL of the blocked page (using $U)
Added the option to keep blocked pages in the browser's Back history Added the option to display a warning message before a site is blocked
Added option to calculate time spent when page is not focused (workaround for some sites using Flash/Java) Added hyperlink from options dialog to examples (online) Redesigned options dialog to use less screen real settings Removed localization (translator not available)
LeechBlock update log
1. Fixed several bugs;
2. Optimize details;
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As the war in the Middle East spreads, Saudi Arabia has turned to Pakistan, its defense ally. Will Islamabad "end"?
On Saturday local time, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman issued a statement through social media
Salman said in the statement that the two sides focused on discussing Iran's missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, and also agreed to formulate specific measures to prevent such attacks within the framework of the "Joint Strategic Defense Agreement" between the two countries.
The statement also stated that both sides believe that Iran's relevant military actions have seriously undermined regional security and stability, and called on Tehran to exercise restraint, "exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation."
The "Joint Strategic Defense Agreement" mentioned by Salman refers to the mutual defense agreement signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the only nuclear-armed country in the Islamic world, after Israel raided Qatar in September last year and carried out precision strikes against senior Hamas leaders in its capital Doha. Its core provision stipulates that any attack against one of the contracting states is deemed to be a joint attack against both countries.
This is not only the first time that Saudi Arabia, a long-term ally of the United States in the Middle East, has actively sought to get rid of its dependence on Washington for security guarantees, but it is also the most significant formal defense commitment signed by Pakistan in decades.
But now, this agreement is facing a severe test that Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had never expected before. Al Jazeera reported on the 7th that in the face of Saudi Arabia, which has been successively attacked by Iranian missiles and drones, Pakistan is under tremendous internal and external pressure on whether to fulfill its defense commitments.
According to reports, on the one hand, Pakistan has deep defense ties with Saudi Arabia. About 1,500 to 2,000 Pakistani soldiers are stationed in Saudi Arabia for a long time, and millions of workers work in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. The economy and security are deeply tied; on the other hand, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have deep defense ties. Iran shares a 900-kilometer border and is prone to friction due to cross-border armed issues. Coupled with the sympathy and indignation of the domestic Shiite public over the murder of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Islamabad has to be sandwiched between Saudi Arabia and Iran and carefully "walk the tightrope."
So far, Islamabad's response has been to conduct intensive diplomatic communication and have frequent contacts with regional leaders, including Iran and Saudi Arabia. However, analysts generally point out that as conflicts in the Middle East continue to escalate, Pakistan wants to stabilize its alliance with Riyadh while avoiding a direct confrontation with Tehran. This balancing strategy of balancing both ends will become increasingly unsustainable.
Pakistan faces 'credibility test'
Ever since the United States and Israel launched multiple rounds of strikes against Iran on February 28, detonating the situation in the Middle East, Pakistan has been in this dilemma.
According to Al Jazeera, after the US-Israeli attack killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Pakistan immediately condemned the attack as "unjustifiable"; but within a few hours, Pakistan turned to condemn Iran's retaliatory strikes against Gulf countries as a "blatant violation of sovereignty."
Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar was attending an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Riyadh when the conflict broke out last week. He later said that he carried out "shuttle communication" between Tehran and Riyadh.
On March 3, Dar spoke in the Senate and held a press conference, revealing that he had personally reiterated to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Pakistan has clear defense obligations to Saudi Arabia.
Dar said, "We have a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia and the whole world knows about it. I told the Iranian leadership that we must respect our agreement with Saudi Arabia."
According to Dar, Araghchi asked Pakistan to guarantee that Saudi territory would not be used to attack Iran, and he informed the other party that he had obtained relevant guarantees from Riyadh. He believes that it is this secret channel communication that effectively limits the scale of Iran's attack on Saudi Arabia.
Two days later (5th), Iranian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati said that Iran welcomes Saudi Arabia’s commitment not to allow its airspace or territory to be used against Iran in the current conflict with the United States and Israel.
"We appreciate the position reiterated by Saudi Arabia many times - Saudi Arabia will not allow its airspace, waters or territory to be used against Iran," he said in the interview.
But this brief relaxation did not last long. Just one day later, in the early morning of the 6th, the Saudi Ministry of Defense confirmed that it had successfully intercepted three ballistic missiles aimed at the Prince Sultan Air Force Base. The base is located southeast of Riyadh and houses US military personnel.
The situation instantly became tense again. A few hours later, Pakistani Army Field Marshal Munir arrived in Riyadh and met with Saudi Defense Minister Salman. Salman later emphasized in a statement that the two sides discussed Iran's continued attacks on Saudi Arabia and the necessary measures to stop the attacks within the framework of the Pakistan-Saudi Mutual Defense Agreement.
On September 17, local time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (second from right), Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman (left), Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif (second from left) and Pakistan Army Chief of Staff Saeed Asim Munir (right) took a group photo after signing a mutual defense agreement. Visual China
Although analysts believe that the core provisions of the agreement should not be directly interpreted as automatically triggering military intervention, as the war continues to escalate, Pakistan, caught between Iran and Saudi Arabia, will find it difficult to maintain absolute neutrality for a long time.
Omar Karim, associate research fellow at the Riyadh-based King Faisal Center for Studies and Islamic Studies, said Pakistan's current predicament stems from miscalculation. He pointed out that Islamabad may never have imagined that it would be caught in the confrontation between Tehran and Riyadh, especially after Saudi Arabia and Iran achieved the easing of relations and the resumption of diplomatic relations in 2023.
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