Reuters reported Tuesday that, hours before President Trump’s deadline to open the Strait of Hormuz, Iran attacked Saudi Arabia’s Jubail petrochemical complex. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the attacks were “in response to the enemy’s crimes in the aggression against (Iran’s) Asaluyeh petrochemical plants,” which had reportedly been hit by several explosions overnight.
Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, responded to the attacks by writing on social media:
“Spoke with my dear brother, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince & Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and conveyed Pakistan’s unwavering solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Condemned today’s attack on the Al Jubeil oil facility. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Saudi brothers and sisters. Appreciated the Kingdom’s restraint under the wise and sagacious leadership of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing peace efforts for de-escalation in the region.”
تحدَّثتُ مع أخي العزيز صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير محمد بن سلمان، وليِّ العهد ورئيس مجلس وزراء المملكة العربية السعودية، ونقلتُ إليه تضامنَ باكستان الثابتَ مع المملكة العربية السعودية. كما أدنتُ الهجومَ الذي شنَّته إيران على منشأة النفط في الجبيل في وقتٍ سابقٍ من اليوم، مؤكِّدًا… https://t.co/qxM6UPT7Ql
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 7, 2026
More than one X user criticized Sharif for not condemning the U.S. attacks on Iran or President Trump’s threat against Iran, especially after the U.S. President said Tuesday, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
One critic replied to Sharif: “You are nothing but merely a puppet of US it will use you against china someday wait and watch.”
[NOTE: Pakistan abstained from voting in the U.N. Security Council Tuesday on a Bahrain-led resolution regarding securing navigation and opening the Strait of Hormuz. Eleven countries voted in favor, Russia and China used their veto, and Colombia also abstained.]
إلى جانب ذلك، ندين بشدة التهديدات الأمريكية أيضًا. pic.twitter.com/P9t8dNz9yd
— Ameer Hamza (@AmeerHamzaVoice) April 7, 2026
The New York Times reported in March: “Since Mr. Trump returned to office, the Pakistanis have lavished praise on the president, hired lobbyists tied to his family and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. They also struck a series of business deals that mimicked the administration’s own transactional approach to foreign policy.”